Rantings from Colorado Planned Parenthood shooting suspect Robert Lewis Dear provide glimpse of possible motive
BY MEG WAGNER, LARRY MCSHANE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Updated: Saturday, November 28, 2015, 6:32 PM A A A
Robert L. Dear, 57, was arrested for Friday's deadly gun rampage at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood.
COLORADO SPRINGS POLICE DEPT.
Robert L. Dear, 57, was arrested for Friday's deadly gun rampage at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood.
Rantings from the hulking gunman provide the first glimpse into a possible motive behind the murderous Colorado rampage at a Planned Parenthood office.
“No more baby parts,” suspect Robert Lewis Dear, 57, told investigators, according to NBC News.
Citing two law enforcement sources, the network reported Dear’s ramblings were so disjointed, it wasn’t clear whether the mention of baby parts was enough to establish a concrete motive.
Dear, a North Carolina native, also mentioned President Obama while being grilled by police. Sources also said there were was no evidence of a diagnosed mental health issue or a felony conviction, meaning he was free to legally purchase the rifle used in the Friday shooting.
GARRET SWASEY, COP KILLED IN COLORADO SPRINGS PLANNED PARENTHOOD SHOOTING AND DAD OF TWO, WAS ONCE AN OLYMPIC ICE DANCING HOPEFUL
Neighbors in two states and his ex-wife had no idea what led to the shooting and five-hour standoff in Colorado Springs that left three people dead, including a police officer.
Robert Lewis Dear would spend time in a small shack on Black Mountain in North Carolina, neighbors said.
MICHAEL BIESECKER/AP
Robert Lewis Dear would spend time in a small shack on Black Mountain in North Carolina, neighbors said.
One of his Tar Heel State acquaintances said he never heard Dear discuss religion or abortion.
James Russell, who lived near the 6-foot-4 murder suspect in Black Mountain, N.C., said his neighbor had trouble focusing on anything for too long.
Dear's cabin features a cross made of twigs but has no electricity or running water.
“If you talked to him, nothing with him was very cognitive — topics all over place,” said Russell, adding that Dear studiously avoided eye contact when speaking.
He did offer some advice several years ago to a South Carolina neighbor about home ownership: Put on a metal roof to block any government surveillance.
Despite his East Coast ties, Dear registered to vote in Colorado last year as an independent and was listed as the owner of five acres of vacant land in Hartsel, a town of less than 700 people.
He bought the property about a year ago, and kept to himself after moving into a small white trailer, said local cafe owner Jamie Heffelman. It was unclear exactly how long Dear was in the town 60 miles from Colorado Springs before the shooting spree.
Dear also spent time at a second home in Swannonoa, N.C.
MICHAEL BIESECKER/AP
Dear also spent time at a second home in Swannonoa, N.C.
The murder suspect’s ex-wife of 15 years offered little insight into the shooter, who had a minor rap sheet.
“I know everyone has a lot of questions,” Pamela Ross of Goose Creek, S.C., told The Post and Courier newspaper. “We all do.”
In North Carolina, Dear lived in a small cabin with no electricity or running water on a remote dirt road about 15 miles west of Asheville, N.C. He lived alone except for a mangy dog. Neighbors said the pooch was in such terrible shape that they called local animal control, and Dear was acquitted in 2002 on charges of shooting his dog.
Rantings from Colorado Planned Parenthood shooting suspect Robert Lewis Dear provide glimpse of possible motive
BY MEG WAGNER, LARRY MCSHANE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Updated: Saturday, November 28, 2015, 6:32 PM A A A
Robert L. Dear, 57, was arrested for Friday's deadly gun rampage at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood.
COLORADO SPRINGS POLICE DEPT.
Robert L. Dear, 57, was arrested for Friday's deadly gun rampage at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood.
Rantings from the hulking gunman provide the first glimpse into a possible motive behind the murderous Colorado rampage at a Planned Parenthood office.
“No more baby parts,” suspect Robert Lewis Dear, 57, told investigators, according to NBC News.
Citing two law enforcement sources, the network reported Dear’s ramblings were so disjointed, it wasn’t clear whether the mention of baby parts was enough to establish a concrete motive.
Dear, a North Carolina native, also mentioned President Obama while being grilled by police. Sources also said there were was no evidence of a diagnosed mental health issue or a felony conviction, meaning he was free to legally purchase the rifle used in the Friday shooting.
GARRET SWASEY, COP KILLED IN COLORADO SPRINGS PLANNED PARENTHOOD SHOOTING AND DAD OF TWO, WAS ONCE AN OLYMPIC ICE DANCING HOPEFUL
Neighbors in two states and his ex-wife had no idea what led to the shooting and five-hour standoff in Colorado Springs that left three people dead, including a police officer.
Robert Lewis Dear would spend time in a small shack on Black Mountain in North Carolina, neighbors said.
MICHAEL BIESECKER/AP
Robert Lewis Dear would spend time in a small shack on Black Mountain in North Carolina, neighbors said.
One of his Tar Heel State acquaintances said he never heard Dear discuss religion or abortion.
James Russell, who lived near the 6-foot-4 murder suspect in Black Mountain, N.C., said his neighbor had trouble focusing on anything for too long.
Dear's cabin features a cross made of twigs but has no electricity or running water.
“If you talked to him, nothing with him was very cognitive — topics all over place,” said Russell, adding that Dear studiously avoided eye contact when speaking.
He did offer some advice several years ago to a South Carolina neighbor about home ownership: Put on a metal roof to block any government surveillance.
Despite his East Coast ties, Dear registered to vote in Colorado last year as an independent and was listed as the owner of five acres of vacant land in Hartsel, a town of less than 700 people.
He bought the property about a year ago, and kept to himself after moving into a small white trailer, said local cafe owner Jamie Heffelman. It was unclear exactly how long Dear was in the town 60 miles from Colorado Springs before the shooting spree.
Dear also spent time at a second home in Swannonoa, N.C.
MICHAEL BIESECKER/AP
Dear also spent time at a second home in Swannonoa, N.C.
The murder suspect’s ex-wife of 15 years offered little insight into the shooter, who had a minor rap sheet.
“I know everyone has a lot of questions,” Pamela Ross of Goose Creek, S.C., told The Post and Courier newspaper. “We all do.”
In North Carolina, Dear lived in a small cabin with no electricity or running water on a remote dirt road about 15 miles west of Asheville, N.C. He lived alone except for a mangy dog. Neighbors said the pooch was in such terrible shape that they called local animal control, and Dear was acquitted in 2002 on charges of shooting his dog.
