Posted on 11/30/2015 10:54:11 AM PST by wagglebee
November 30, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) - The picture emerging of the man who allegedly opened fire at a Planned Parenthood facility Friday is one of a deeply troubled recluse with a history of run-ins with the law and bizarre behavior that left some of those who encountered him fearful for their safety, and many convinced that he wasn't sane.
On Saturday morning Colorado Springs police identified Robert Lewis Dear, 57, of North Carolina, as the suspect in the shooting that left three dead, and another nine injured. Dear allegedly began shooting outside the Planned Parenthood facility just before noon, Mountain Time, Friday, before retreating into the facility for a five hour stand-off with police.
Planned Parenthood has confirmed that none of its staff were injured in the shooting. Both of the civilians killed were reportedly accompanying friends to appointments.
The New York Daily News reports that an online dating profile that appears to have been posted by Dear in the early 2000s has Dear asking for "discreet" sadomasochistic sex, as well as pot-smoking companions. Other posts on Cannabis.com by someone with a username associated with Dear, include what the Daily News describes as "paranoid Biblical rants."
Heavy.com reports that Dear was arrested and charged in 2002 on charges of "animal cruelty," eavesdropping and "peeping tom" charges. He was acquitted of the animal cruelty charges after a bench trial, while the latter charges were dismissed.
He also has numerous previous convictions for various traffic violations. These include seat belt violations, driver’s license violations, operating a vehicle in an unsafe mechanical condition and driving a non-registered vehicle.
ABC reports that Dear spent some of his time living in a cabin in the woods in North Carolina, without running water or electricity. Neighbors say he was a quiet man who seemed "off." They said that when he did speak, he tended to ramble on a disconnected series of topics.
One neighbor, James Russell, said that two topics they never heard Dear speak about were religion and abortion. Russell also said that Dear tended to avoid eye contact. "Nothing with him was very cognitive," said Russell about Dear.
James Howie, who lived close to one of Dear's remote properties in North Carolina, told USA Today that Dear once asked him to do some foundation work on his shack. After accompanying Dear to the job site, Howie declined the job. "I was just glad to get home," he said about the experience, adding that in his view Dear seemed crazy, although not dangerous.
Another neighbor told the Washington Post that Dear "was the kind of person you had to watch out for. He was a very weird individual. It's hard to explain, but he had a weird look in his eye most of the time."
Another neighbor said that she and her family "kept out of his way." "He wouldn't really speak to anybody, he wouldn't wave," Mallory Nicoletti, 29, told the Citizen-Times.
John Hood, another neighbor, told NBCNews that Dear rarely spoke with him, but when he did, it was to offer bizarre advice. On one occasion, said Hood, Dear urged him to get a metal roof installed on his house, so the US government couldn't spy on him. Hood also said he erected a fence between their properties, because Dear had a habit of skinny dipping.
The Gateway Pundit also reports that, bizarrely, Dear was registered to vote as a woman, although it is unclear whether this is simply a clerical error or has any deeper significance.
One anonymous source, reportedly with the police, told the Washington Post that in a confusing rant following his arrest Dear did make mention of "baby body parts," suggesting some connection with the recent series of undercover videos showing Planned Parenthood staffers harvesting and selling the body parts of aborted babies.
However, the source added that this was but one topic among many mentioned by Dear in a speech that left investigators unclear as to his specific motivation.
Planned Parenthood has issued a statement saying that based upon eyewitnesses they believe Dear "was motivated by opposition to safe and legal abortion."
Dear's ex-wife, Pamela Ross, told the New York Times he was a Bible-believing Christian, and that he opposed abortion, but that it "was never really a topic of conversation" in their house.
RELATED: Planned Parenthood shooting suspect surrenders, is in custody: police
Ross and Dear divorced in 2000. The picture that Ross paints of her ex-husband as a physically healthy man who lifted weights, took good care of himself, enjoyed listening to U2 and riding motorcycles, clashes markedly with the accounts of those who lived near him in the years since their parting.
Ross said she was shocked at the man she saw on TV following his arrest this weekend.
“Something must have happened to him when he moved away, that’s all I know," she said. “Me and our whole family are extremely devastated and heartbroken by the victims of these families, and we have no words that can ever comfort them other than to say we’re sorry for what he did.”
Dear reportedly brought several "items" with him into the Planned Parenthood facility, which police had said they were concerned could be explosives. Early Saturday morning police tweeted that those items have been "secured" and are "no longer a threat."
Subsequent reports have suggested those items were propane tanks that Dear may have been trying to shoot in order to cause an explosion.
After a five-hour standoff with police, during which Dear repeatedly exchanged gunfire with them, police were able to establish voice contact with the suspect by shouting. At that point they were able to convince him to surrender.
While some reports have indicated that the shooting actually began outside a nearby Chase Bank, and may have been related to a robbery, Springfield police spokeswoman Lt. Catherine Buckley said at a press conference Friday evening that the shooting appears to have begun at the Planned Parenthood.
While Dear's motive is still unknown, pro-life groups have issued statements condemning the violence, and urging caution in jumping to conclusions.
"Information is very sketchy about the currently active shooting situation in Colorado Springs," said Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life. "The Planned Parenthood was the address given in the initial call to the police, but we still do not know what connection, if any, the shooting has to do with Planned Parenthood or abortion."
"As leaders in the pro-life movement, we call for calm and pray for a peaceful resolution of this situation."
Troy Newman of Operation Rescue and Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, also issued statements.
"Operation Rescue unequivocally deplores and denounces all violence at abortion clinics and has a long history of working through peaceful channels to advocate on behalf of women and their babies," said Newman. "We express deep concern for everyone involved and are praying for the safety of those at the Planned Parenthood office and for law enforcement personnel. We pray this tragic situation can be quickly resolved without further injury to anyone."
"Although we don't know the reasons for the shooting near the Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs today, the pro-life movement is praying for the safety of all involved and as a movement we have always unequivocally condemned all forms of violence at abortion clinics. We must continually as a nation stand against violence on all levels," said Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, based in Washington, D.C.
Not inconsistent with a guy with a rifle outside of PP firing toward the police who arrived at the bank parking lot. But if it's easier to believe that every one involved is in cahoots with a cover up go ahead.
Here is my theory. He pulls into PP parking lot, starts shooting people in parking lot.
Several things happen then. One, people in parking lot that can get away, flee to bank, grocery store, and other locations. Those locations call in reports of a shooting, leading to the confusion on where the shooting started.
Next, there is a report that the man that was shot and subsequently died, was able to make it back inside the building and warn those inside. But you also have the woman who saw him shooting. They see this happening in the parking lot and implement their security procedures before he makes it into the building.
Next, he begins putting the purported IEDs around the outside of the building. This is when police begin responding. This is probably the reported “30 minutes” before he enters the building.
He shoots police who have made it to the Chase in response to the people who have fled there from PP.
He finally enters the building and continues setting up these “IEDs”.
Now, why the gag order? There were a lot of people injured, and just as others have posted, police admit to shooting at the building in response to his shooting at them. It is very, very possible they might be responsible for some of those injuries.
Another very good article I saw the other day is the recommendation from psychologists to not “glorify” the outcomes of these shootings. Do not show the mourning, the grief. Do not talk about the shooter (this was employed in the Oregon/Washington shooting recently). Don’t do wall to wall reporting. That may be another reason that we are seeing a lack of information coming out about this situation.
If he doesn’t plead guilty, there will be a trial soon enough.
Here is what you said.
"He shot people in the parking lot of PP. He couldn’t get to the employees in PP because the successfully implemented their security procedures."
As I said earlier, you did not qualify whether he was inside or outside when he shot them, leaving me free to believe he was. That is why I said you implied it.
Now, back on track, so to speak, you are saying that he walked up to a car and shot at the driver point blank through the window and missed ? Is it possible that the shots were coming from police who were trying to shoot him ? There were snipers on the roof.
Yeah, he had to have a rifle. I know the one woman said shotgun. Possible he had more than one gun.
The driver says he looked him right in the eyes (I seem to remember from that interview that he even says how crazy the guy looked) and the man shot at him. He thought he had been shot; he has cuts all over his face from the glass from the windshield.
This happened long before police arrived. This man was the man that showed up at King Soopers and triggered one of the first calls.
Snipers didn’t get there for awhile.
First, it would be easier. Especially since many times, it's true.
Second, I'm trying to debate my opinion of what happened with others who have a different opinion. That is how one gets to the truth. You now are part of that discovery.
What do you see as this guy's motive for running into a PP clinic, but only shooting people out in the parking lot ?
Sure, he's a nutcase, but still nutcases have motives. What about reports that this all started 30 minutes before he arrived at the clinic ? What about reports he shot a cop before he ever went inside ?
Do you know how many different LEO organizations they had on scene ? How many fire trucks ? How long did it take to get all that there ?
What times do the police reports show as this actually starting and when do they report he entered the clinic ?
Why the gag order ?
Not bad for a theory.
Were there reports of him carrying what must have been hundreds of pounds of IED’s while outside the clinic ?
What did these IED’s look like? How was he able to just walk around and place these IED’s while police were shooting at him ?
It took the cops 30 minutes to respond ????
On that, I completely agree.
I thought he was in the process of bringing propane tanks to the entrance to the building from his vehicle. The shootings could have taken place during that process.
There isn’t information on what the IEDs look like, but the police have reported they were no longer an issue. No other information was provided on the topic.
I think the claim is that the shooting had been happening 30 minutes before he entered the PP building. I proposed in that 30 minutes he shot people in the parking lot, placed IEDs outside the building, and in that time police arrived and he engaged them. Not that it took police 30 minutes to arrive.
OK. Now you say that he had IED’s on him.
Where is the proof that is true ?
I have looked and there are only reports that police were CHECKING to see if there were any such devices in the building. There were reports he had some ‘mysterious’ devices he carried into the building. None of these have ben substantiated, that I know of.
If so, let me know.
Was this guy shot before the University Cop got shot ?
Gunman Shoots Police Officers and Civilians at Planned Parenthood Abortion Business
Police spokeswoman Lt. Catherine Buckley said the gunman took a "long gun" into the facility and also took items with him, including some inside and outside of the building. Officers haven't been able to evaluate those to determine if they are explosives.
The Colorado Springs Police Department confirms that the items brought to the scene by the suspect have been secured, and processed items are no longer a threat.
Spokespeople for the PP clinic have stated that they have extensive security equipment in place and are working to find out why these features didn't keep this guy out or let staff know what was going on.
Like VIDEO CAMERAS. Where are those videos and if he was setting propane tanks outside the building, surely they would have noticed.
Besides, propane tanks are fairly recognizable and whatever he was carrying was described as mysterious.
The key quote
The university cop responded to police under fire. He was not a first responder.
Thanks to both of you for your contributions.
NOW, my theory( I know it’s not the same as my original bent, but that’s because I’m open minded):
The mysterious items were jars with dead baby fetuses in them that this guy had gotten out of dumpsters behind the PP clinic.
This is why he laid siege to the clinic. That is why he said “No more baby parts”. That is why the police refuse to let anyone see the ‘mysterious items’. That is why the gag order.
“Dear’s ex-wife, Pamela Ross, told the New York Times he was a Bible-believing Christian, and that he opposed abortion”
This is all that we will hear.
So... A University cop who arrives late on scene, and is in a parking lot a block away gets shot by a perp who is defending himself against an array of LEO's who are outside the PP clinic. And the perp is already inside the PP clinic because all the perp's action outside the clinic happened in the 30 minutes before the cops arrived.
Is that what you are saying ?
I don’t know where the University officer was shot. I just recall that he responded to a call for assistance as police were under fire.
And, repeated, I did not say it took the police 30 minutes to arrive. You have said that it was 30 minutes after shooting started before Dear entered the PP. I proposed activities that could have been occurring in that 30 minutes.
I was intrigued by your idea it is aborted babies placed around the building.
But, wouldn’t that mean PP was not following biologic waste procedures?
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