Colorado Politics

Cause of death revealed for self-proclaimed Planned Parenthood gunman

The self-proclaimed gunman in the Planned Parenthood shooting in Colorado Springs in November 2015 died from congestive heart failure and other related medical conditions, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said in a recent court filing.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons database shows that Robert Dear Jr., 67, died Nov. 22, at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Mo.

Also relating to his death, Dear had too much fluid in his body and low oxygen levels in his blood, the bureau said.

Thanksgiving marked 10 years since the shooting that killed Ke’Arre Stewart, Jennifer Markovsky and University of Colorado Colorado Springs police officer Garrett Swasey. Nine other people — five of them law enforcement officers — were wounded during the five-hour standoff at the Planned Parenthood facility off Centennial Boulevard near Fillmore Street on the city’s west side.

Dear was in federal custody at the time of his death, Nov. 22, undergoing medical restoration to competency after years of mental health concerns in both federal and state courts.

Due to Dear’s death, both the state and federal cases are now in the dismissal process. On the federal level, Dear faced 65 counts of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act and three counts of use of a firearm during a crime of violence resulting in death, according to the late-2019 indictment. For his state case, he faced 179 charges, three of which were sentence enhancers.


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