WICHITA, Kan. — Services were just starting Sunday morning at Reformation Lutheran Church when members heard a pop. Someone thought it sounded like a balloon bursting.
A gunman’s single shot had mortally wounded Dr. George Tiller, an usher at the church and one of a few U.S. physicians performing late-term abortions.
"We just thought a child had come in with a balloon and it had popped, had gone up and hit the ceiling and popped,” said Adam Watkins, a 20-year-old Wichita resident who had shaken hands with the doctor and his wife about 10 minutes before.
Tiller, 67, had been the target of violence before: A protester had shot him in both arms as he left his clinic in 1993, and his clinic was bombed in 1985. But, in the end, the place where Tiller faced the biggest threat turned out to be where he prayed.
"This is particularly heart-wrenching because George was shot down in his house of worship, a place of peace,” said a statement released on behalf of Tiller’s family.
The gunman fled, but a 51-year-old suspect was detained some 170 miles away in suburban Kansas City three hours later, Wichita Deputy Police Chief Tom Stolz said.
Although Stolz refused to release the man’s name, Johnson County sheriff’s spokesman Tom Erickson identified the detained man as Scott Roeder. He has not been charged in the slaying and was expected to be taken to Wichita for questioning.
Tiller’s Women’s Health Care Services clinic is one of just three in the nation where abortions are performed after the 21st week of pregnancy. The clinic was heavily fortified and Tiller often traveled with a bodyguard.
Tiller’s family said its loss "is also a loss for the city of Wichita and women across America. George dedicated his life to providing women with high-quality health care despite frequent threats.”
by the associated press
A gunman’s single shot had mortally wounded Dr. George Tiller, an usher at the church and one of a few U.S. physicians performing late-term abortions.
"We just thought a child had come in with a balloon and it had popped, had gone up and hit the ceiling and popped,” said Adam Watkins, a 20-year-old Wichita resident who had shaken hands with the doctor and his wife about 10 minutes before.
Tiller, 67, had been the target of violence before: A protester had shot him in both arms as he left his clinic in 1993, and his clinic was bombed in 1985. But, in the end, the place where Tiller faced the biggest threat turned out to be where he prayed.
"This is particularly heart-wrenching because George was shot down in his house of worship, a place of peace,” said a statement released on behalf of Tiller’s family.
The gunman fled, but a 51-year-old suspect was detained some 170 miles away in suburban Kansas City three hours later, Wichita Deputy Police Chief Tom Stolz said.
Although Stolz refused to release the man’s name, Johnson County sheriff’s spokesman Tom Erickson identified the detained man as Scott Roeder. He has not been charged in the slaying and was expected to be taken to Wichita for questioning.
Tiller’s Women’s Health Care Services clinic is one of just three in the nation where abortions are performed after the 21st week of pregnancy. The clinic was heavily fortified and Tiller often traveled with a bodyguard.
Tiller’s family said its loss "is also a loss for the city of Wichita and women across America. George dedicated his life to providing women with high-quality health care despite frequent threats.”
by the associated press
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