Cop, 2 more dead in Colo. Planned Parenthood shootings

A police officer and two civilians died Friday after a man wearing hunting gear and armed with a "long gun" went on a shooting spree inside a Planned Parenthood clinic here, USA Today quoted police as confirming Friday night.

The University of Colorado - Colorado Springs identified the dead officer as Garrett Swasey, 44, who was assisting Colorado Springs police in the incident.

Swasey was a six-year veteran of the university police department, according to a statement from Pam Shockley Zalabak, university chancellor.

"The officer who gave his life today alongside the other officers put the lives of civilians in peril above his own," the Colorado Fraternal Order of Police said via Twitter. "He died to save others."

Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman tweeted, "My thoughts and prayers are with families of victims of today's standoff in Colorado Springs. Tragic loss of life in #PPShooting."

The civilians killed in the shooting were not Planned Parenthood employees. The organization said in a statement that its staffers at the location were accounted for.

The alleged shooter was taken into custody Friday evening after barricading himself inside the clinic and engaging in the shooting rampage that left an officer and two civilians dead. Nine other people were injured in the shooting, including five officers, authorities said.

Colorado Springs police Lt. Catherine Buckley confirmed the gunman's capture.

The shooter was identified by sources as Robert Lewis Dear, 57, of South Carolina, KUSA-TV reported.

Sources: MENA