KANSAS POLICE have arrested a suspect in Sunday’s fatal shooting at a Wichita church of Dr George Tiller, who ran a clinic that performed late-term abortions.
Scott Roeder (51), who had links to far right anti-government groups and was a staunch opponent of abortion, was stopped by police 274km (170 miles) away from Wichita, about three hours after the shooting.
He was being held yesterday without bail on one count of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault.
Dr Tiller (67) was shot dead on Sunday morning in the foyer of the Reformation Lutheran Church, where he was acting as an usher as his wife sang in the choir.
The gunman pointed the weapon at two people who tried to stop him, according to police, before driving away in a powder-blue Ford Taurus.
Regina Dinwiddie, an anti-abortion activist who knew Mr Roeder, said she believed the killing of doctors who provided abortions was justifiable.
“I know that he believed in justifiable homicide,” she told the Kansas City Star.
“I know he very strongly believed that abortion was murder and that you ought to defend the little ones, both born and unborn.”
Dr Tiller’s Women’s Health Care Services clinic in Wichita is one of only three clinics in the US that provide late-term abortions to women whose doctors have determined that giving birth would cause irreparable harm to their health.
Dr Tiller survived an assassination attempt in 1993 when he was shot in both arms, and his clinic was bombed in 1986.
The clinic has been a target for pickets by anti-abortion activists for decades, and Dr Tiller and his family received frequent threats.
President Barack Obama, who faced anti-abortion protests last month when he delivered a commencement address at Notre Dame University, condemned Sunday’s murder.
“However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence,” he said.
Abortion rights groups called on federal authorities to “root out and prosecute as domestic terrorists” those who plan and commit violent attacks on abortion clinics.
Anti-abortion groups also condemned Dr Tiller’s murder, which Operation Rescue, one of the most radical groups, described as “a cowardly act”.
Operation Rescue, which closely followed Dr Tiller’s work, insisted the group had no connection with the suspect in the murder, although someone who called himself Scott Roeder posted a message about the doctor on the group’s website in May 2007.
“Bless everyone for attending and praying in May to bring justice to Tiller and the closing of his death camp,” the posting read.
“Some time soon, would it be feasible to organise as many people as possible to attend Tiller’s church (inside, not just outside) to have much more of a presence and possibly ask questions of the pastor, deacons, elders and members while there? Doesn’t seem like it would hurt anything but bring more attention to Tiller.”