Gunman kills three in Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic shootout, suspect captured

COLORADO SPRINGS (TIP): (Developing Story): A Police officer and two civilians were killed & 9 injured when a gunman opened fire at a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic in a nearly six-hour standoff late evening today, November 27.

The attacker surrendered after a five-hour stand-off with the law enforcement agencies.

Police arrested the gunman who has been identified as Robert Lewis Dear, 57, from Harstel, Colorado. According to local KDVR-TV, he was previously a resident of North Carolina, where he had an arrest record.

The dead included one police officer and two civilians, Colorado Springs Police Chief Peter Carey told reporters while listing the nine surviving victims – five police officers and four civilians – in good condition at nearby Veteran hospital.

The handcuffed gunman identified as Robert Lewis Dear, 57, from Harstel, Colorado is being moved to the police vehicle
The handcuffed gunman identified as Robert Lewis Dear, 57, from Harstel, Colorado is being moved to the police vehicle

Robert – later seen in a white T-shirt, handcuffed, and led away by officers -first engaged in a protracted gun battle with police, but ultimately surrendered about five hours after the start of the violence. Police is still working to pinpoint his motive — and making sure he didn’t leave any explosives inside or outside the Colorado Springs building.

The motive for the attack was not immediately clear.

“We don’t yet know the full circumstances and motives behind this criminal action, and we don’t yet know if Planned Parenthood was in fact the target of this attack,” Vicki Cowart, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains said in a written statement. “We share the concerns of many Americans that extremists are creating a poisonous environment that feeds domestic terrorism in this country. We will never back away from providing care in a safe, supportive environment that millions of people rely on and trust.”

The Colorado Springs clinic has been the target of repeated protests by anti-abortion activists. It is owned by Planned Parenthood, a national non-profit group devoted to providing a range of reproductive health services, including abortions.

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