Robert Dear, Colorado Clinic Shooter, Dies in Prison Medical Center

Robert Dear, the man responsible for a deadly 2015 shooting spree at a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic, has died in custody at the age of 67. Dear, who had been incarcerated since his arrest immediately following the November 27, 2015, attack, passed away on Saturday at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear, though it is preliminarily linked to natural causes, as reported by a bureau spokesperson.

Dear, a self-proclaimed “warrior for the babies,” was charged with killing three people and injuring nine others during the shooting at the clinic, which provides reproductive health services, including abortions. Armed with a rifle, Dear opened fire outside the facility before charging inside. He surrendered after a five-hour standoff with police.

Despite his confession to the mass shooting, Dear’s legal proceedings were complicated by his mental health. In 2016, two state-appointed psychologists diagnosed him with a paranoid delusional disorder, rendering him mentally unfit to stand trial. A state court ruled Dear incompetent to stand trial, although he was able to understand the factual basis of the charges against him. In 2019, he was indicted in federal court, but the case again stalled as Dear was declared mentally unfit in 2021.

Authorities continued efforts to restore Dear’s mental competency, including attempts to administer anti-psychotic medications against his will, as recently as June 2024. Federal experts had estimated a more than 70% chance that the drugs would help restore his competency, though Dear’s defense argued that age and prolonged psychosis would make the treatment ineffective.

For nearly a decade, both state and federal prosecutors struggled to move forward with charges against Dear. His death in custody marks the end of a long, complicated legal battle surrounding his actions and mental fitness, leaving victims and their families without final closure in the case.