Vigil for victims of the Planned Parenthood attack; shooter in court

Public defender Daniel King, left, and alleged shooter Robert Lewis Dear at court appearance Monday, Nov. 30, 2015.

Family members say this big-hearted person did everything in his power to keep others out of harm’s way when gunfire broke out at a Planned Parenthood Clinic in Colorado Springs on Friday.

Colorado was rocked with devastating news on Friday when a male fired his gun inside a Planned Parenthood building, killing three victims and injuring nine more.

The man accused of attacking a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs has made his first court appearance.

Dear, a native of SC, was to appear before a judge by video link at 1:30 p.m. MST (3.30 p.m. ET) from the jail where he was being detained without bond. “Murder charges will be more than adequate on the local level”.

Police officer, Garrett Swasey, 44, and two civilians, Jennifer Markovsky, 35, a mother of two who was at the clinic supporting a friend, and Ke’Arre Marcell Stewart, 29, an Iraq War veteran and father of two were killed in the rampage.

The shooting resulted in an hours-long standoff and shootout.

Dear has been described by acquaintances as a reclusive loner.

Police have declined to speculate on a motive for the attack, but a law enforcement source said Dear told authorities “no more baby parts” during a rambling statement after being arrested.

“I couldn’t believe it”, he said.

He is expected to be formally charged on 9 December.

She said there was no armed security when the shooting began.

“Her family said she was at the Planned Parenthood clinic supporting a friend”, HNN reports.

Outside the clinic, which is cordoned off by yellow police tape, stands a sign surrounded by flowers and a candle that reads, “In loving memory of Officer Swasey and the two other victims”. Suthers said it is not clear whether the shooting was meant to send an ideological message.

The Colorado Springs centre has been targeted for protests by anti-abortion activists.

One Planned Parenthood clinic near Detroit cancelled an event for World AIDS Day on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.

The remark attributed to suspect Robert Lewis Dear was an apparent reference to Planned Parenthood’s abortion activities and its role in delivering fetal tissue to medical researchers, a hot-button issue in the 2016 race for the presidency. They haven’t been told their father is dead, Lloyd said.