Police: Shooting suspect offended by anti-abortion material

[RamboLiberal]

Authorities have charged an Owosso, Michigan, man with two counts of first-degree premeditated murder in the Friday shooting deaths of an anti-abortion activist and another man, a prosecutor's office said.

Authorities say the suspect, Harlan James Drake, was offended by anti-abortion material that the activist had displayed across from the school all week.

Drake, 33, is accused of shooting anti-abortion activist Jim Pouillon, 63, and Michael Fuoss, 61, who were killed in separate locations Friday morning, the prosecutor's office in Shiawassee County said.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/09/11/michigan.shooting/

Pic of the killer:

Police say Harlan James Drake, 33, fatally shot an anti-abortion activist Friday outside a high school as horrified parents and students watched. He has been charged in the death of another man.
Shiawassee County Sheriff's Department

If this was the motive for the murder of Pouillon, then it is just as wrong as the murder of Dr. Tiller!

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

1. Oh...great.....

I figured the guy who did this probably just didn't like the signs. But by next week, the reich-wing will have spun it to say he was a donating member of Planned Parenthood and watched KO every night.

Thanks, asshole.

[Dreamer Tatum]

11. Um, point of order

the reich-wing will have spun it to say he was a donating member of Planned Parenthood and watched KO every night.


We had Tiller's killer pegged pretty much the same way, just on the opposite side.

[Posteritatis]

17. Wasn't it at least partially the case with him, though?

I don't know for sure if I'm confusing the shooter with another guy, but I seem to remember Free Republic frantically purging posting records after either that incident or another right-winger's shooting up of something or someone in the last few months.

(Feel free to correct me if my wires are crossed on this though; I genuinely don't remember.)

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

24. My point is this guy's political views may not run as deep as that

A lot of people hate those goddamn signs, even people against abortion. Since he had already killed his boss, maybe he thought he'd off another guy who annoyed him and make a name for himself.

The man who killed Tiller was deeply embedded in the pro-life movement.

[OwnedByFerrets]

14. And a member of Acorn and the ACLU

[krawhitham]

2. let them be afraid for awhile

[Howardx]

6. good call

[vadawg]

7. no you dont wanty anyone to be afraid, thats when people start to shoot first and ask questions late

do you really want to see more people die due to differences in what they believe...

[Posteritatis]

22. Looks like he does as long as it's "their" people

Civilization's veneer's pretty thin on here some days...

[vadawg]

23. problem is when people start dieing, its usually not the people who you think that will end up dead

it always concerns me when i see people actually advocating for civil war and a breakup of the nation, its all very well calling for it, but dont be surprised when its you and your family up against a wall or kneeling at a roadside ditch. Kinda scares me sometimes...

[RamboLiberal]

8. I don't agree

Sounds like this killer is a whack job just like those who kill abortion doctors. Murder is never the answer.

[DoctorMyEyes]

21. Was my first thought n/t

[liberalmuse]

3. Once again, I was wrong.

Interesting, but tragic turn of events, either way. :(

[WeDidIt]

4. Throw the book at him

Life imprisonment.

Can't give him the death penalty as Michigan hasn't had one since 1846 I believe.

[Kaleva]

5. Yes

[Libertas1776]

10. Michigan was

in fact the first English speaking government in the whole world to abolish the death penalty for all crimes, save treason.

[Posteritatis]

18. Nice! (nt)

[lunatica]

9. I bet he's going to turn out to be mentally ill

[Parker CA]

12. What an idiot. Hey, I don't like what those signs represent, I think I'll shoot them. I'll never

understand that type of thinking, from any position.

[PA Democrat]

13. Strange story. He is also accused of killing another person the same morning.

No motive for the other killing which occurred in a different location is mentioned. It sounds as though the suspect had problems which ran much deeper than a dislike of the anti-abortion activist's signs.

[Parker CA]

15. Gotta imagine anyone pulling this kind of move has to be disturbed on quite a serious level. nt

[Barack_America]

19. Sounds like he just decided to take out everyone who "offended" him.

Terrible.

[PA Democrat]

25. MSNBC reported that he confessed that he'd planned to kill a third

person but he was arrested before he had the chance. Sounds like a very disturbed individual.

[slackmaster]

16. That is a real shame

I don't like having kids exposed to offensive images, but he took the issue way too seriously.

[Dr_Willie_Feelgood]

37. The High School students, not so worried about.

They see more graphic images on TV and the movies.

Adults need to suck it up and accept that is the reality of abortion. Just as I think it is important for people to see the terrible images of war, to understand why it needs to be stopped and avoided.

The elementary school kids seeing the images on his sign - that's bothersome. But not worthy of him being murdered.

[me b zola]

40. Women's health care needs to be stopped and avoided?

Is this what you are saying?

[Dr_Willie_Feelgood]

41. What I am saying is...

...people have not only the right, but the obligation to know the truth about the major issues of life.

I don't have the right to say someone cannot have a legal medical procedure. But I am under no obligation to like it. And I have the right to say that I think it is wrong. Not because I want to hold women down, but because I am -TRULY- pro life. Before AND after being born.

Beyond that, my major beef is murder over differences of opinion.

[me b zola]

43. I think that in all of that truth about major issues of life

People should be reminded that when they have the audacity to purport to know better than a woman about her specific health, her needs, concerns, and care w/o actually having the knowledge of being in her shoes, they diminish women.

That said, I agree with you on the obscenity of murder over differences of opinion. I just highly doubt that the murderer was a pro-choice activist.

[charlie]

20. Coward

That big roast beef motherfucker shot a 63 year old tethered to an oxygen tank.

Rambofied wuss. Coward.

[musicblind]

26. Exactly. What a horrible person. I am ashamed to think this killer would consider himself worthy of

being in the same room as progressives like you and I.

[elehhhhna]

28. That 63 year old was posting extremely graphic, disgusting pictures at the

public school.

Karma sucks.

Let them all work it out in hell.

[deaniac21]

31. You must really hate PETA.

[elehhhhna]

35. peta doesn't force their stuff on captive children on school grounds.

[readmoreoften]

34. If he punched him to death while hopping on one leg with an arm tied behind his back

would that have sufficed? I find "coward" accusations bizarre. Maybe he's not a coward, maybe he's insane. Maybe he's a returning vet who went nuts from PTSD. Maybe he's schizoid and the killing had nothing to do with abortion. I don't think bravery or a lack of bravery has anything to do with this.

[charlie]

38. And maybe he's a coward

It's pretty simple. You want violence, do it with someone who stands a chance of whupping your ass. And leave the gun at home. The dude's a snivelling COWARD.

[TheKentuckian]

27. What a jackass waste and a scrap of material for the bogus "both sides" meme (nt)

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

29. We should definitely ignore things like this when it affects us negatively.

[petronius]

30. The CNN photo shows the victim sitting behind an Obama sticker

Seems kind of strange - was it modified to be anti-Obama, and just cropped, or was the deceased some sort of anti-choice Democrat? :shrug:

Glad they caught the cowardly shitsack before he found his third target, at least...

[Raine]

32. Sadly this is the end result of the hateful division

and extremism. I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't more of this kind of thing.

[johnaries]

33. Something just doesn't smell right.

Can't quite put my finger on it, but something in the back of my brain says this story stinks. I'll be watching this story to see what happens. My money is that he killed the anti-abortionist for entirely different reasons but someone in the Sheriff's department is putting out this whole "didn't like anti-abortion material" thing. And why would he shoot the other man if that were his motive?

[elehhhhna]

36. probably shot 'em b/c they were outside & in range.

random.

[johnaries]

44. The CNN article says they suspected that he was searching

for a third victim when they caught him. Hardly sounds like a targeted shooting for ideological reasons to me. LIke you said, sounds random.

[Joanne98]

39. The anti was terrorizing the school children.

Why are they allowed to stand outside of elementary schools with gross pictures anyway?

[Jennicut]

42. Violence is never the answer. It helps no one and only increases the further escalation of

violence toward others. Is this what its come down to in this country....shooting people we don't agree with? I do blame the Right Wingers for starting this but everyone has a responsibility in this country to not take things in their own hands and become vigilantes. It only makes things worse.