Mom of 2, Iraq Vet Died in Planned Parenthood Attack

Gunman never made it into main clinic area
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 30, 2015 4:20 AM CST
Updated Nov 30, 2015 6:30 AM CST
Mom of 2, Iraq Vet Died in Planned Parenthood Attack
Members of Hope Chapel take part in services early Sunday in northeast Colorado Springs, Colo. Slain police officer Garrett Swasey was a member of the congregation.   (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

The two civilians killed in Friday's attack on a Planned Parenthood clinic have been identified as an Iraq War veteran and a mother of two, both of whom were at the Colorado Springs, Colo., clinic to support friends. Jennifer Markovsky, 35, was a stay-at-home mom who "lived for her kids," her sister-in-law tells the Colorado Springs Gazette. She grew up in Hawaii and moved to Colorado with her husband, who is in the military. The other victim named on Sunday, 29-year-old Ke'Arre Stewart, was an Iraq War veteran and the father of two girls, the Gazette reports. Stewart, who grew up in Texas, "was caring, giving, funny, and just a damn good person," a friend writes on a GoFundMe page set up to help his family.

The third person killed in the attack was identified Saturday as 44-year-old University of Colorado at Colorado Springs officer Garrett Swasey, who, like the other two victims, had two children. At a Sunday service at the Hope Chapel, where he was a co-pastor, he was described as a devoted husband and father as well as a dedicated police officer and an accomplished figure skater, the Washington Post reports. In other developments:

  • Regional Planned Parenthood chief Vicki Cowart gave more details of the attack on ABC's This Week, the AP reports. Cowart—who says hateful speech directed at the organization has contributed to attacks—said none of the clinic's 15 employees were injured and that the gunman never made it past a locked door to the main clinic area. The nine people injured in the attack include five police officers, the AP notes.
  • More details about the alleged gunman, 57-year-old Robert Lewis Dear, also emerged on Sunday, though police haven't discussed a motive. Dear, who apparently moved from North Carolina to Colorado last year, has been described as a loner who handed out anti-government pamphlets. His relatives, including his mother and at least some of his four children and three ex-wives, live in the Charleston, SC, area and have been reluctant to talk to journalists, the Post reports.
  • Dear, who reportedly said "no more baby parts" after his arrest, will appear in court today and could end up facing federal charges, possibly under the 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, as well as local ones, the AP reports.
(More Planned Parenthood stories.)

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