3 Dead; 9 Wounded at Planned Parenthood in Colorado

Civilians are rescued near the scene of a shooting at a Planned Parenthood facility on Nov. 27, 2015. (Photo: Andy Cross, The Denver Post)

3 Dead; 9 Wounded at Planned Parenthood in Colorado

Police have detained one supect following a shooting and standoff that spanned five hours in Colorado Springs

Robert Lewis Dear, a 57-year-old from North Carolina, has been named as the gunman behind a massacre at a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic in which three people died and nine were injured.

In a statement Friday night, Planned Parenthood said: "We share the concerns of many Americans that extremists are creating a poisonous environment that feeds domestic terrorism in this country."

Barack Obama said on Saturday the US had "to do something about the easy accessibility of weapons of war on our streets to people who have no business wielding them".

"Period," the president added, in a statement released by the White House. "Enough is enough."

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders issued this statement today: "While we still 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."

Update (7:30 PM ET): Gunman surrenders to police

The Guardianreports:

A gunman has surrendered after an hours-long standoff inside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs that left 11 people injured, including five officers, police said on Friday.

Colorado Springs mayor John Suthers confirmed the arrest of the gunman, whose condition was not clear. No fatalities were announced.

At an earlier press briefing, Colorado Springs police lieutenant Catherine Buckley said the suspect was believed to be carrying a "long gun", though she could not say what type of weapon it was or its capacity.

Buckley added that the gunman brought bags and other "items", possibly including propane tanks, to the Planned Parenthood building.

After the gunman's arrest, explosives teams were at the scene, police said.

The Denver Post adds:

By 4:15 p.m., six people injured in the incident had been transported to Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs, according to a hospital spokeswoman. All of the patients brought to the hospital are alive, hospital spokeswoman Andrea Sinclair said. She did not release any others details about the patients' conditions or say whether they were police officers or civilians. She said all of the patients brought to the hospital are alive.

Three more victims were taken to Memorial Hospital, according to a spokesman there.

Earlier 5:45 PM ET:

At least four police officers and an unknown number of civilians were reportedly shot and wounded on Friday after a gunman entered a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

As of this reporting, police officials were describing the situation as "still active" with many questions unanswered regarding exactly how many people have been shot, wounded, or possibly killed. According to the most recent reports, the gunman remains inside the building, though nothing is known about the suspect's state of mind or possible motivations.

A tweet posted by Planned Parenthood Action, the national political arm of the national women's healthcare and reproduction rights advocacy group, stated:

The local CBS affiliate KKTV reported:

According to the Denver Post:

"This is still a very active situation," Colorado Springs Police Lt. Catherine Buckley said.

By 2:45 p.m., five people injured in the incident had been transported to Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs, according to a hospital spokeswoman. The spokeswoman did not know the patients' condition or whether they were police officers or civilians.

At 2:15, the police department reported on Twitter that officers were "encountering gunfire" from a suspect inside the Planned Parenthood building. Around the same time, a SWAT truck sped out of the scene and an apparently injured person was unloaded onto a gurney. The truck then raced back toward the Planned Parenthood building.

The gunman has not made any demands or made any statements to officers, Buckley said. She said initial reports described his weapon as a long gun, such as a rifle.

"We do not know about this person's mentality or ideology," Buckley said.

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