Suspected Killer Of Partial-Birth Abortion King Arrested - Updated
WICHITA - A suspect in this morning’s fatal shooting of abortion doctor George Tiller is in custody and on his way back to Wichita, Wichita Deputy Police Chief Tom Stolz said at a news conference late this afternoon.
The 51-year-old male suspect was arrested without incident on Interstate 35 in Johnson County about three hours after the shooting, Stolz said.
Police did not release the suspect’s name.
The investigation is in its “infancy stages,” Stolz said. He said the shooting appeared to be an isolated act.
Tiller, 67, was shot once just after 10 a.m. in the lobby of Reformation Lutheran Church at 7601 E. 13th St., where he was a member of the congregation.
Stolz said Tiller was shot in the foyer of the church. There were three or four eyewitnesses, he said. Six to 12 people were in the foyer at the time of the shooting.
Two men attempted to apprehend the suspect, but he pointed a gun at them and threatened them before fleeing, Stolz said.
The suspect’s car — a powder blue Ford Taurus registered to an owner in Merriam — was spotted just south of Gardner by two Johnson County Sheriff’s deputies. The sheriff’s office had suspected that the man would be coming back to his home on I-35, and the deputies waited for him.
As the car was spotted going north on the highway, the deputies followed and were quickly joined by three other sheriff’s patrol cars.
Lt. Mike Pfannenstiel of the Johnson County Sheriff’s office said officers pulled the car over just south of the main Gardner exit and got out with guns drawn. The man then got out of his car with his hands up.
“We took him down without incident,” Pfannenstiel said, adding that the man appeared to be driving the speed limit and made no attempt to elude the deputies.
Stolz said police anticipate the suspect will be charged with murder and two counts of aggravated assault. Investigators will present the case to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office on Monday.
The district attorney’s office will determine what charges will be filed, Stolz said. Federal charges are also a possibility, he said.
Tiller was serving as an usher at the church, one of six ushers listed in the church bulletin. He was handing out bulletins to people going into the sanctuary minutes before being shot.
Tiller’s family issued a statement through Wichita attorneys Dan Monnat and Lee Thompson:
“Today we mourn the loss of our husband, father and grandfather. Today’s event is an unspeakable tragedy for all of us and for George’s friends and patients.
“This is particularly heart wrenching because George was shot down in his house of worship, a place of peace.”
Wichita police Capt. Brent Allred said that several law enforcement agencies — including the FBI and the KBI — have been called in to help with the case.
Allred said the 10 a.m. church service had already begun at the time of the shooting.
Homicide detectives and Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston arrived at the church after the shooting.
Members of the congregation who were inside the sanctuary at the time of the shooting were kept inside by police, and those arriving were ushered into the parking lot immediately after the shooting.
Witnesses later were transported downtown for interviews and other members of the congregation were slowly released from inside the sanctuary.
By 12:30 p.m., what appeared to be a body was taken away in an SUV with a patrol car behind it.
At about 12:40, a police dog was taken to check out a black SUV. An investigator wrote down the tag number on the vehicle.
Tiller has long been a focal point of protest by abortion opponents because his clinic, Women’s Health Care Services at 5107 E. Kellogg, is one of the few in the country where late-term abortions are performed.
“It’s a terrible loss. I’m just really sad about the whole thing,” said a former employee of the clinic who asked not to be identified. “He was a great guy. I understand people were against a lot of what he did, but for those who he helped, they’ll never forget the kind of person he was.”
Mark Mitchell, who lives near where the shooting occurred, said he knew Tiller attended Reformation Lutheran Church because of the periodic protests there and media coverage.
He said the protests would sometimes be as large as two dozen people. The last protest he can remember there was in the fall.
“We are shocked at this morning’s disturbing news that Mr. Tiller was gunned down,” anti-abortion group Operation Rescue said in a statement on its Web site. “Operation Rescue has worked for years through peaceful, legal means, and through the proper channels to see him brought to justice. We denounce vigilantism and the cowardly act that took place this morning. We pray for Mr. Tiller’s family that they will find comfort and healing that can only be found in Jesus Christ.”
Protesters blockaded Tiller’s clinic during Operation Rescue’s “Summer of Mercy” protests during the summer of 1991, and Tiller was shot by Rachelle Shannon at his clinic in 1993. Tiller was wounded in both arms, and Shannon remains in prison for the shooting.
The clinic was bombed in June 1986, and was severely vandalized earlier this month. According to the Associated Press, his lawyer said wires to security cameras and outdoor lights were cut and that the vandals also cut through the roof and plugged the buildings’ downspouts. Rain poured through the roof and caused thousands of dollars of damage in the clinic. Tiller reportedly asked the FBI to investigate the incident.
No arrests were made in the 1986 bombing.
Sgt. Bart Brunscheen of the Wichita Police Department said earlier today that there has been no activity today at Tiller’s clinic, although security crews were being brought in to make sure the building was secure. Officials also were going to check the clinic’s security cameras to see if there was any activity over night.
Tiller and his clinic have faced continuous threats and lawsuits. A Wichita jury ruled in March that he was not guilty on 19 criminal charges he faced for allegedly violating a state law requiring an “independent” second physician’s concurring opinion before performing later term abortions. Immediately following the ruling in this criminal case, the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts made public a similar complaint against Tiller that was originally filed in December 2008.
Former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline, who conducted an investigation into Tiller, said in a statement he was “stunned by this lawless and violent act which must be condemned and should be met with the full force of law. We join in lifting prayer that God’s grace and presence rest with Dr. Tiller’s family and friends.”
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Well.. lets hope the judge has some empathy.
… for the murdered babies!
What was this about there being no such thing as right wing extremists?
The problem will be the backlash against the pro-life movement. Dr. Tiller was a bad person, as his practice was death, but liberals and the mainstream media will use his killing to try to marginalize the pro-life movement.
If the left wing strategy is going to be trying to gather sympathy for a man that killed essentially full term babies for decades I say go for it. The majority of America has no clue what actually happens during a late term abortion.. what the infant feels, how it reacts. If the left does this there will be a huge shift to right in American sentiment toward abortion.
You may have a point. Late term abortion is awful. When the U.S. Supreme Court majority in the Carhart case struck down the Nebraska ban on partial birth abortion, the majority opinion in describing the procedure used clinical and technical language in what appearerd to be an attempt to disguise what is done. It was noted in the dissents, however, how there seemed to be an affort by the majority to be opaque. People do need to be educated to what is involved in later term abortion. The reaction to it is that it is murder.
Karma is a bitch, what goes around comes around,you reap what you sow…there are so many one lines for this.
My first thought when I heard this was ‘I wonder who really did this” and now the DHS has there wish to go after pro-life ‘right wing extreamist’
Theres no tear in my bear today but perhaps a sigh of releif.
I heard Rush talk about a recent poll that a majority although slight of American were pro lofe. I think the movement is growing because people are now seeing the outcome in society.
When people tell me that they are pro “choice” I ask them if they have had one, if they have known someone who has and if they have watched one being done in all stages. most of the times the answers are all NO.
So I ask them how they support something they are not educated on. Then I explain there is no such thing is “pro choice” the governments aganda is to FUND AND PROMOTE! where is the word choice? to promote is to have a certain outcome otherwise it would be to educate. Then I ask how they felt about the government funding this.
I am hoping this will draw attention to and create an intrest in what exactly this man does. This would be the perfect time to put more information out there about what a late term abortion is and how it is done.
George tiller’s day at the office
The MSM will have to get around not making any mention of ‘late term’. Everybody can figure out what that means.
It’s sort of ironic that this guy gets gunned down in a church where they celebrate life, yet Monday morning he would go make money killin’ kids who where to be born in a few days because basically Mom had a headache.
And the church wonders why people are leaving them.
I think it is very fitting that he was taken out in God’s house.
God is not mocked. God only, is the giver and taker of Life.
Also, don’t forget, he gave abortions to children. The youngest, if I remember Bill O’Reilly’s show, was twelve.
He gave the abortion then DID NOT report it. A twelve year old pregnant demands that one look for either God, the 11-13 year old male who did it, or the rapist (adult?) who did it.
In an interview with some legislator or maybe it was the Governor or AG, the question about this was asked and there was no comment.
So, a child shows up pregnant, give an abortion, let her go about her business…no questions asked.
Yeah, right….
The law requires abortion clinics to report girls under a certain age. If she is 12 or so and comes up pregnant there is a good chance she is being sexually abused by an older adult like a stepfather. Child protective services has an interest to investigate abuse or statuatory rape claims but those agencies are stonewalled by abortion clinics.
Tiller and his ilk never gave a shit about “women’s rights” only making himself rich at their expense. I hope he is burning in hell right now for all the babies he has killed and lives he has ruined.
If my theory is correct, this is one more provocation. I think it would behoove us all to make sure this man is who the media says he is.
My gut is telling me that the Obama puppetmasters want chaos and rioting. They would relish such an incident, even if it were contrived.
What self respecting church would allow this piece of offal be an usher?
Thats the problem with churches these days. There so watered down and politicaly correct it is sick!!!
Very fitting that he was taken out in this church.
This is very true - particularly with the ELCA - which I assume is the Synod to which this particular church belongs. Not to offend any Lutherans here but I was one until I realized how leftist they had become with their social/political gospel. I find the location of his death to be fittingly ironic.
I can find no sympathy in me for the man, regardless of how “great a guy” he was or how “heart-wrenching” the loss. Apparently the loss of countless thousands of human lives by this “great guy’s” hands wasn’t particularly heart-wrenching.
And another thing…I thought the church was supposed to be there to help women in crisis. Sending them to a butcher to have their problem taken care of, even if the butcher is a congregation member, is WHOLLY UNACCEPTABLE!!!