A Colorado judge ruled Wednesday that the suspect charged with fatally shooting three people at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs last year is incompetent to stand trial.
“That’s called prejudiced, filthy animal!” Robert Lewis Dear yelled at the judge as he was walked out of the courtroom Wednesday, according to a report.
Robert Lewis Dear had been facing 179 felony counts for the November 27 shooting rampage. The same judge, Gilbert Martinez, had ordered a mental evaluation of the defendant in December after his lawyer said he was not stable enough to endure the pending legal battle.
Officials said the 57-year-old had been armed with military-style gear and weapons at the time of the incident, including a bulletproof vest made of duct tape and silver coins.
One police officer and two civilians were killed in the attacks, which lasted six hours.
Dear had called himself a “warrior for babies” at an initial court hearing following the shootings. He also told detectives he believed he would be welcomed into heaven by fetuses who had been aborted, thanking him for his attack on the abortion facility.
The decision suspends Dear’s case while he receives mental health treatment at a state psychiatric hospital. His health will be reviewed again in August.
