Planned Parenthood Shooter ID'd as NC Man

Police haven't disclosed motive for Colorado Springs shooting
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 28, 2015 7:48 AM CST
Planned Parenthood Shooter ID'd as NC Man
This photo provided by the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs shows officer Garrett Swasey.   (University of Colorado at Colorado Springs via AP)

The suspect accused of killing a police officer and two civilians at a Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs on Friday was a long way from home, according to law enforcement sources. The sources tell the Denver Post that the suspect, who surrendered after an hours-long standoff, has been identified as North Carolina man Robert Lewis Dear, 57. Police have not discussed a motive for the rampage, which left nine people injured. "We don't have any information on this individual's mentality, or his ideas or ideology," a Colorado Springs police spokeswoman says, per the AP. At least four police officers are among the injured, and Mayor John Suthers says the tragedy could have been "much worse but for the actions of the first responders," the Colorado Springs Gazette reports.

In a statement, Planned Parenthood Rocky Mountains CEO Vicki Cowart said that while the motive is still unclear, they "share the concerns of many Americans that extremists are creating a poisonous environment that feeds domestic terrorism in this country." The slain officer has been identified as University of Colorado at Colorado Springs officer Garrett Swasey, 44. He was a co-pastor at the city's Hope Chapel and church members tell the New York Times that he was on a mission to save lives on Friday and his own anti-abortion beliefs would not have affected his actions. A co-pastor says church members gathered at Swasey's home on Friday night, where his wife had to break the news to their 10-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter. "She had to tell her kids that their daddy wasn’t coming home," he says. (More Planned Parenthood stories.)

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