Robert Dear, the suspect in the 2015 Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic shooting that killed three people, has died in federal custody at age 67, ending a yearslong legal battle over bringing him to trial. The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that Dear, who had been charged in 2019, died of natural causes at a medical center in Springfield, Missouri, on Saturday. His death marks the end of a legal process that had stalled for years due to disputes regarding his mental health treatment and whether he could be medicated against his will for his delusional disorder.
Dear was accused of carrying out a violent attack at the clinic in Colorado Springs, where he had intended to wage ‘war’ against the facility due to its offering of abortion services. According to the Justice Department, Dear arrived at the clinic with an arsenal of weapons, including four SKS rifles, five handguns, two additional rifles, a shotgun, and over 500 rounds of ammunition. Additionally, he brought propane tanks, which were later used in the attack. During the incident, Dear fired at people parked near his truck, killing one and seriously injuring another, before moving on to shoot at three people in front of the clinic, killing one and injuring another.
After entering the clinic, Dear engaged in a five-hour standoff with multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Colorado Springs Police Department, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, and the Colorado Springs Fire Department. During this confrontation, Dear shot at officers and firefighters, killing one officer and injuring four others. Nine others were also injured in the attack. Ke’Arre Stewart, a 29-year-old Army veteran who had served in Iraq and was a father of two, and Jennifer Markovsky, a 36-year-old mother of two from Hawaii, were among the civilians killed during the attack. Their families and the broader community in Colorado Springs have expressed sorrow and a sense of loss, with some families feeling that the victims deserve the full measure of justice that was never achieved due to the prolonged legal process.
The case had been complicated by questions surrounding Dear’s mental health, with the court repeatedly finding him incompetent to stand trial. The legal battle centered on whether he could be medicated against his will for his delusional disorder, a decision that would have allowed the prosecution to proceed. Despite multiple attempts to bring him to trial, the process was repeatedly stalled. Michael J. Allen, the district attorney for the 4th Judicial District, had been trying to prosecute Dear in state court before he was transferred to federal custody. Allen expressed his frustration, stating that the victims and the community deserved the full measure of justice, which remains unfulfilled with Dear’s death.
In addition to the immediate consequences of the shooting, the incident sparked ongoing debates about gun control, mental health treatment, and the responsibilities of individuals with severe psychological conditions. The case has also been a focal point for discussions on how to balance the rights of the accused with the need for public safety. The death of Robert Dear has ended this legal chapter, but the broader questions it raised remain unresolved, continuing to affect the conversation around mental health policy and criminal justice reform.