An unidentified woman bows her head at a vigil for the victims in Colorado Springs, Colo. | AP Photo Reports: Suspect in Planned Parenthood shooting talked about 'no more baby parts'

The gunman's motive in a fatal attack on a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic became clearer Saturday following multiple media reports that the suspect had said "no more baby parts" after he was apprehended.

The mayor of Colorado Springs, John Suthers, earlier Saturday had said authorities aren't ready to discuss a possible motive of the gunman but people can make "inferences from where it took place."


The shooting comes amid intense conservative criticism of Planned Parenthood's abortion practices after the release of a series of surreptitiously filmed videos that purported to show staff discussing reimbursements for the donation of fetal tissue. Planned Parenthood has denied any wrongdoing.

Three people were killed and nine injured on Friday at the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood clinic in a mass shooting and standoff that the organization at first suggested was "domestic terrorism" before replacing that language with "horrific tragedy."

In a statement later Saturday, Vicki Cowart, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Rocky Mountains (PPRM), said the shooter was "motivated by opposition to safe and legal abortion."

“This is an appalling act of violence targeting access to health care and terrorizing skilled and dedicated health care professionals," she said.

Suthers said investigators have interviewed the suspect, 57-year-old Robert Lewis Dear of North Carolina, but authorities still want to learn more about him, suggesting that his mental health was part of the investigation, according to the Associated Press. Media reports drawing on neighbors' testimony painted a picture of a recluse with a history of acting strangely.

Witnesses to Dear's behavior described him as rambling conversationally about diverse topics including politics and abortion.

Local authorities had said the incident began inside the clinic. Dear, reportedly armed with an assault-style rifle, began shooting and then engaged in a standoff with police. He eventually surrendered some five hours after the incident began.

Garrett Swasey, 44, a local police officer, is among the dead. Neither of the two community members killed has yet been publicly identified. The nine injured, five of whom are police officers, remain hospitalized, but are in good condition.

Over the past few months, Planned Parenthood has received blistering criticism from conservatives after an anti-abortion group called the Center for Medical Progress released a series of undercover videos that it said showed staff discussing reimbursements for the donation of fetal tissue.

Planned Parenthood has repeatedly said that it has not committed any crime. The organization has also said the videos were heavily edited and misleading.

Nevertheless, Senate Republicans have been moving forward with efforts to defund the organization, and GOP presidential candidates have lined up behind those efforts.

In August, hundreds of people protested near the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood clinic, part of a nationwide day of protests expressing outrage about the organization's abortion practices.

In a statement released late Saturday, Attorney General Loretta Lynch said: “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. It was also an assault on the rule of law, and an attack on all Americans' right to safety and security."

President Barack Obama earlier on Saturday released a statement calling the attack "not normal."

"We can’t let it become normal. If we truly care about this -- if we’re going to offer up our thoughts and prayers again, for God knows how many times, with a truly clean conscience -- then we have to do something about the easy accessibility of weapons of war on our streets to people who have no business wielding them. Period. Enough is enough," the president said.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton weighed in obliquely on the events, tweeting out "Today and every day, we #StandWithPP." Her rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, tweeted, "We proudly #StandWithPP of Colorado Springs and the brave law enforcement personnel who fought to protect it."

Sanders later said in a statement: "While we do not know the shooter's motive, what is clear is that Planned Parenthood has been the subject of vicious and unsubstantiated statements attacking an organization that provides critical health care for millions of Americans. I strongly support Planned Parenthood and the work it is doing and hope people realize that bitter rhetoric can have unintended consequences."

Sen. Ted Cruz tweeted: "Praying for the loved ones of those killed, those injured & first responders who bravely got the situation under control in Colorado Springs."

Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican, criticized Planned Parenthood's initial statement on the shooting as "very premature" in an appearance on CNN. "If we find out that he was not targeting Planned Parenthood, I would fully expect an apology from the Planned Parenthood director for saying that," he said.

"Obviously, this is a person that has a mental health issue, that's to some level psychotic and crazy,” he said. "And if he's targeting Planned Parenthood — and again, we don't know — if he is, he has taken a legitimate disagreement with the practice and turned it into an evil response, which is to go in and shoot people."

Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer, a Democrat, tweeted, "Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood shootings undoubtably [sic] related to savage campaign to stop the critical services to millions of women. Sad."

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