Colorado Shooting: Five Most Recent Updates

Yesterday’s shooting in Colorado at a Planned Parenthood has left the nation stunned and in mourning. The Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood was under siege for over five hours, CNN reports, as part of a shooting rampage that left three dead and nine others hospitalized on the day after Thanksgiving. The situation during and following the Colorado shooting has been fluid and ever-changing, with new details coming in. Here’s the latest.

The Colorado Shooting Suspect Has Been Identified

Police involved in the Colorado shooting identified the suspect of the terrorist assault that took place at the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood on November 27. Initially, the New York Times reports, the Colorado shooting suspect was identified a simply a six-foot, four-inch white male.

Later, CNN confirmed that the alleged Colorado shooter had been identified as Robert Lewis Dear, a 57-year-old who lived “off the grid” between Colorado and North Carolina.

The Colorado Shooting Left Three Dead

In addition to killing three, including one police officer, the Colorado shooting left nine people hospitalized. The nine people who were shot, wounded, and hospitalized are all in good condition, reports the Gazette. The victims in the Colorado shooting include five officers and four civilians. The injured were transported to local hospitals.

A representative of the Colorado Springs PD, Lt. Catherine Buckly, confirmed that the nine victims all sustained gunshot wounds.

The deceased include two civilians and a UCCS police officer.

Lt. Catherine Buckley of the Colorado Springs Police Department confirms two civilians and a UCCS police officer died in Friday’s shooting. Four civilians and five officers were transported to hospitals with gunshot wounds. All are in good condition.

The UCCS police officer has been identified as Officer Garrett Swasey, a 44-year old ice skating champion and elder of his church, CNN reports. The law enforcement victim of the Colorado shooting was the victim of a married father-of-two, who’d spent six years on the force.

Slain officer Garrett Swasey was an elder at his church. Here, with his family: https://t.co/5PJ3DW2wPR pic.twitter.com/RMW0la97jN

— Matt Pearce ??? (@mattdpearce) November 28, 2015

The Planned Parenthood family grieves for Officer Garrett Swasey's family, friends and colleagues dealing with heartbreaking loss tonight.

— Cecile Richards (@CecileRichards) November 28, 2015

The Colorado Shooting Standoff Lasted For Hours

The Colorado shooting at the Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs spawned a standoff that went on for hours. The entirety of the situation spanned for about six hours, reports CNN. The Colorado shooting at the Planned Parenthood facility shut down the city of 400,000 for most of the afternoon and evening of November 27.

During the majority of the time the shooting was underway, details were scarce. Information regarding victims, motives, the shooter, and other details were few and far between. Planned Parenthood released a statement confirming that its staff members were all safe following the seemingly targeted Colorado shooting. The organization went on to say that it could not confirm and did not know whether the organization was the target of the terrorist attack.

President Obama Called For More Gun Control In the Wake Of The Colorado Shooting

While the United States and the world struggled to come to terms with the senseless killings in Colorado Springs, President Obama used the too-familiar scenario to call for more gun control in the United States.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALKpl8MrT_g

This isn’t the first mass shooting President Obama has had the misfortune of seeing during his term. From the Colorado theater shooting to Sandy Hook, Obama has had his hands full of mass casualty incidents during his presidency.

The following graphic illustrates the mass shootings in the United States since the Sandy Hook tragedy.

No Motive Has Been Publicly Released

While Planned Parenthood clearly suspects that there is a political/ideological motive for the Colorado shootings, an official motive has yet to be identified or released. It’s been a tough year for Planned Parenthood. The CEO of the organization has been grilled by the U.S. Congress, accused of selling fetal body parts for profit. While the Congressional investigation turned up no wrong-doing, the non-profit women’s health organization has been in the cross-hairs.

Care — no matter what. #StandWithPP pic.twitter.com/27lOtqQMEY

— Planned Parenthood Action (@PPact) November 28, 2015

Even though no motive has been released by authorities, many believe that the motivations of the Colorado shooting suspect were clear. To disrupt safe, legal abortion on demand. Clearly, some “pro-life” members of the public believe that killing abortion providers/seekers is justified.

Active Shooter Colorado Planned Parenthood. I would think this brave HERO is saving innocent Baby lives!

— David JGoodwin (@DJGoodwin1) November 27, 2015

If there was any time a justified shooting should have taken place it was at #ColoradoSpringsShooting #PlannedParenthood

— Mari (@ashotofmelanin) November 28, 2015

Since September, Planned Parenthood locations have suffered at least three instances of vandalization. Several high-profile abortion rights cases are currently before the United States Supreme Court. While no motive has been officially released for the Colorado Planned Parenthood shooting, many already believe the motivation has plenty to do with women’s legal right to choose.

While this is something that cannot be confirmed at this time, the Colorado shooting wouldn’t be the first time the “pro-life” movement got violent with Planned Parenthood. This despite the fact that the officer who lost his life was himself pro-life, according to Life News. Regardless of the reason behind the most recent Colorado shooting, the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood has vowed to resume services as soon as possible.

[Image Courtesy Of @moira20025/Twitter]