Merriam Man Held In Connection With Tiller Shooting Suspect In Tiller Slaying Returned To Wichita

Merriam Man Held In Connection With Tiller Shooting Suspect In Tiller Slaying Returned To Wichita

JOHNSON COUNTY, 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.Another usher came in and told the congregation to remain seated, then escorted Tiller's wife out. "When she got to the back doors, we heard her scream, and so we knew something bad had happened," Watkins said.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 wife, four children and 10 grandchildren.The gunman fled, but a 51-year-old suspect was detained some 170 miles away in Johnson County, Kan., Wichita Deputy Police Chief Tom Stolz said.Johnson County Sheriff's deputies confirmed that Scott Roeder, of Merriam, Kan., was arrested and later taken away from the Johnson County Jail in an unmarked car after six hours of being held there. Roeder was driven to Wichita and will appear in court Monday afternoon.Police did not release a motive for the shooting. But the doctor's violent death was the latest in a string of shootings and bombings over two decades directed against abortion clinics, doctors and staff.The 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 and violence."Stolz said all indications were that the gunman acted alone, although authorities were investigating whether he had any connection to anti-abortion groups.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, but Stolz said there was no indication of security at the church Sunday.Anti-abortion groups denounced the shooting and stressed that they support only nonviolent protest. The movement's leaders fear the killing could create a backlash just as they are scrutinizing U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, whose views on abortion rights are not publicly known."We are shocked at this morning's disturbing news that Mr. Tiller was gunned down," Troy Newman, Operation Rescue's president, said in a statement. "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."President Barack Obama said he was "shocked and outraged" by the murder. "However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence," he said.Tiller's attorney, Dan Monnat, said Tiller had recently asked federal prosecutors to step up investigations of vandalism and other threats against the clinic out of fear that the incidents were increasing and that Tiller's safety was in jeopardy. Stolz, however, said police knew of no threats connected to the shooting.Tiller began providing abortion services in 1973. He acknowledged abortion was as socially divisive as slavery or prohibition, but said the issue was about giving women a choice when dealing with technology that can diagnose severe fetal abnormalities before a baby is born.Nancy Keenan, president of abortion-rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America, issued a statement praising Tiller's commitment."Dr. Tiller's murder will send a chill down the spines of the brave and courageous providers and other professionals who are part of reproductive-health centers that serve women across this country. We want them to know that they have our support as they move forward in providing these essential services in the aftermath of the shocking news from Wichita," Keenan said.The last killing of an abortion doctor was in October 1998 when Dr. Barnett Slepian was fatally shot in his home in a suburb of Buffalo, N.Y. A militant abortion opponent was convicted of the murder.Tiller's clinic is fortified with bulletproof glass, and Tiller hired a private security team to protect the facility. Once outside the clinic, Tiller was routinely accompanied by a bodyguard.Watkins, who heard the gunman's shot at church, said Reformation Lutheran members had become accustomed to anti-abortion protests on Sunday mornings."Just like an everyday thing, you just looked over and see them and say, 'Yup they're back again,"' Watkins said. "We had no idea that someone would come into our church and do such a bad thing like that -- inside of a church."Tiller remained prominent in the news, in part because of an investigation begun by former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline, an abortion opponent.Prosecutors had alleged that Tiller had gotten second opinions from a doctor who was essentially an employee of his, not independent as state law requires. A jury in March acquitted Tiller of all 19 misdemeanor counts."I am stunned by this lawless and violent act, which must be condemned and should be met with the full force of law," Kline said in a statement Sunday. "We join in lifting prayer that God's grace and presence rest with Dr. Tiller's family and friends."Peter B. Brownlie, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri released a statement saying, "Dr. Tiller's murder is an enormous loss for our movement and for women and their families across America." He said the group would miss Dr. Tiller as a friend and colleague.Missourians United for Life called Tiller's slaying an inappropriate and deplorable response to the terrible injustice of abortion.About 10 anti-abortion protesters gathered across the street from a downtown Wichita vigil where supporters of George Tiller remembered the slain abortion provider.The protesters outside Sunday's vigil were from Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, which also pickets military funerals. The protesters held signs emblazoned with such messages as "Abortion is bloody murder" and "Baby killer in hell."The protesters and about 20 Tiller supporters shouted at each other. A large number of police officers stood by to make sure the scene stayed under control.The vigil was attended by a couple of hundred people.

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