The man accused of opening fire at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado and killing three people said “no more baby parts” while he was being arrested, NBC News and other media reported, citing unidentified law enforcement sources.
The utterance from suspect Robert Lewis Dear, 57, apparently referenced the organization’s health services, which include abortion, and its role in delivering fetal tissue to researchers.
It could hint at a possible motive for the rampage on Friday, though NBC, citing sources, said investigators had not confirmed any motivation.
Authorities have not discussed a motive for the attack at the Colorado Springs clinic, which killed a police officer and two civilians and wounding nine. Federal law enforcement authorities referred questions to local police. Colorado Springs police could not be reached for comment.
“This unconscionable attack was not only a crime against the Colorado Springs community, but a crime against women receiving healthcare services at Planned Parenthood, law enforcement seeking to protect and serve, and other innocent people,” Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in a statement.
The wounded included five police officers and four civilians, who were listed in good condition at area hospitals.
Garrett Swasey, 44, who was killed, was a campus police officer for the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs who joined city police responding to the shooting. The father of two served as an elder at Hope Chapel, the church said on its website. Dear, a South Carolina native who appeared to have moved to Colorado last year, was taken into custody at the clinic after an hours-long standoff with police and jailed ahead of a Monday court appearance.