Planned Parenthood CEO addresses churchgoers at vigil after deadly shooting
It was standing room only at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church in Colorado Springs, as more than 100 people gathered to remember the victims of a deadly shooting outside of Planned Parenthood.
While Colorado Springs police haven’t said if Planned Parenthood was the intended target, many at the church believe it was.
“I do know that just the noise level out there about Planned Parenthood has been high and it’s been hateful the last several months,” said Vicki Cowart, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains.
But at least one churchgoer found the tone of the vigil offensive, and stood up and spoke after Cowart addressed the crowd.
“I came here today because I feel lucky that my entire family is alive, and I thought we were here to grieve and mourn for the people that died, not to make a political statement so have a nice day,” said a woman who then walked out of the church.
Cowart said 15 employees and patients were inside during the shooting but they left uninjured. Cowart said when the facility does reopen, security measures won’t change drastically.
“You know this is healthcare. People should not have to walk through metal detectors to go to the doctor,” Cowart said.
Cowart told KRDO NewsChannel 13 that she does not know how the shooter made his way into the building. She said the Colorado Springs office had not received threats prior to the shooting.
Leslie Herod was among the people who spoke at the vigil. She was outside of the VA Clinic Friday when she heart gunshots. Herod told the crowd that Friday’s shooting marked the second mass shooing she had witnessed in Colorado. She was also at the state Capitol in 2007 when an armed man was killed.
“People are feeling like it’s okay to target their fellow citizens because they don’t believe in a certain value,” Herod said.
Friday’s shooting marks the second mass shooting in Colorado Springs in less than a month. Four people, including a gunman, were killed on Oct. 31.
