Suspect in Colorado Planned Parenthood shooting dies in federal custody

The suspect charged with killing three people at a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic in 2015 has died in federal custody, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. 

Robert Dear, 67, passed away due to natural causes at a medical center for federal prisoners in Springfield, Missouri, on Saturday, the agency told the Associated Press. 

Dear, who was charged in 2019 in federal court, became entangled in a legal battle over whether he could be medicated for his mental illness, delusional disorder, against his will. He had been repeatedly found incompetent to stand trial, stalling his prosecution for the attack in Colorado Springs. 

“According to facts contained in the indictment, on Nov. 27, 2015, Dear traveled to the Planned Parenthood clinic intending to wage ‘war’ because the clinic offered abortion services. Dear had with him four SKS rifles, five handguns, two additional rifles, a shotgun, more than 500 rounds of ammunition, as well as propane tanks,” the Justice Department said in 2019.

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Robert Dear addresses Judge Gilbert Martinez during a court appearance on Dec. 9, 2015, in Colorado Springs, Colo. (Andy Cross-Pool/Getty Images)

“Dear first shot at people parked next to his truck, killing one and seriously injuring the other two. He then repeatedly shot at three additional people who were in various locations in front of the clinic, killing one and injuring another,” it added at the time. 

“After forcing his way into the clinic, Dear engaged in an approximately five-hour standoff with officials from several law enforcement and public safety agencies, including the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD), El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPSO), University of Colorado — Colorado Springs Campus Police (UCCS), and the Colorado Springs Fire Department. Dear repeatedly shot at the firefighters and law enforcement officers, killing one officer and injuring four more,” the Justice Department also said. 

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The investigation at the scene of a shooting at the Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic, on Nov. 28, 2015.  (Andy Cross/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

Ke’Arre Stewart, 29, an Army veteran who served in Iraq and was a father of two, and Jennifer Markovsky, 36, a mother of two who grew up in Oahu, Hawaii, were accompanying friends to the clinic before they were killed. Garrett Swasey, a campus police officer at a college nearby, responded after hearing of an active shooter and was also killed. Nine others were injured. 

Dear was most recently civilly committed with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, according to 4th Judicial District Attorney Michael J. Allen, whose office tried to prosecute Dear in state court.

Robert Dear, accused of shooting three people to death and wounding nine others at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, attends a hearing at an El Paso County court in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Dec. 9, 2015.  (Andy Cross/Reuters)

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“All three victims, and this community, deserved the full measure of justice in this case but they are now denied that possibility,” Allen was quoted by the AP as saying. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.