The police officer killed during today’s shooting at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood is reportedly pro-life and a co-pastor at his local church. Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood officials have confirmed none of the people killed in the shooting or 9 victims who were injured were Planned Parenthood abortion clinic staff or patients.
As LifeNews.com reported today, shot multiple police officers and holed himself up in a Planned Parenthood abortion business in Colorado Springs, Colorado. News reports indicate one police officer and two civilians were killed in today’s shooting. The shooter is identified as 59-year-old Robert Lewis Dear.
As the New York Times reports about Officer Garrett Swasey:
Garrett Swasey, 44, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs police officer who was shot and killed while responding to a shooting at a Planned Parenthood office, was described by his fellow church members and friends as a courageous man and loving father who drew strength and inspiration from his Christian faith.
He was married, with two young children, and had been on the campus police force for six years. He also spent seven years as a co-pastor at Hope Chapel in Colorado Springs. “Here’s a guy who worked full time as a police officer, and then gave a great amount of time to his local church and didn’t get a dime for it,” said Scott Dontanville, a co-pastor who knew Officer Swasey for 15 years. “He did it because it was the thing that he felt he needed to do.”
Kurt Aichele, a co-pastor at the church and a close friend, said Officer Swasey was once a nationally ranked figure skater and ice dancer and moved to Colorado Springs years ago to train.
When it became clear he had not survived, Mr. Aichele said, they gathered at his home, where his wife broke 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,” Mr. Aichele said.
The newspaper reports that Officer Swasey would have “disagreed with the abortion industry,” according to those who know him best.
Colorado Springs Lt. Catherine Buckley later brief reporters saying: “Since this is still active, it would be premature to speculate about this individual’s motive.”
UPDATE: Family and friends of Officer Swasey have set up a memorial fund for his family to which people can contribute.
While a handful of vigilante extremists have used violence against either abortion clinics or the pro-life movement over the years, pro-life organizations of all stripes have vociferously condemned any and all violence in association with efforts to protect women and unborn children from abortion.
Multiple pro-life groups quickly condemned the shooting while pro-abortion presidential candidate Hillary Clinton sent a tweet exploiting the active shooting before the shooter was apprehended or a motive known to push for support for the abortion business.
Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains issued a statement responding to the shooting, saying it doesn’t know if Planned Parenthood was the target of the attack.
