Accused Colorado Planned Parenthood Shooter Indicted by Federal Grand Jury
INCOMPETENT FOR TRIAL?
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A federal grand jury has indicted Robert Dear, the man allegedly behind a 2015 shooting spree at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood, on 68 counts. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado, the 61-year-old faces 65 counts of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act and three counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence resulting in death. He could face life in prison or the death penalty, though it has not been decided if the death penalty will be sought in his case. Dear has been deemed incompetent for trial since 2016 by the state, after he was originally charged with 179 counts—including murder and attempted murder. According to news station KMGH, he has been in a Colorado mental hospital ever since. Federal prosecutors said they were charging Dear now in order to pursue the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act violations before the statute of limitations runs out.
Dears allegedly traveled to the Planned Parenthood clinic intending to wage “war” over its abortion services in November 2015. He was armed with hundreds of rounds of ammunition, multiple rifles, and propane tanks. After shooting individuals in front of the clinic, he forced his way inside. Dears was taken into custody after a five-hour standoff, and eight were injured in the incident.