THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 31, 1994 TAG: 9412310329
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: FROM WIRE REPORTS
DATELINE: BROOKLINE, MASS. LENGTH: Long : 120 lines
BROOKLINE, Mass. - A man dressed in black pulled out a rifle and opened fire at two abortion clinics Friday morning, killing two female staff workers and wounding at least five other people.
The attacker, who may have been wounded by a security guard at the second clinic, eluded a massive manhunt by local and state police and FBI agents, a hunt that included helicopters and police dogs.
It was the third fatal shooting at an abortion clinic in the past 22 months. The other two occurred in Pensacola, Fla., where two doctors who performed the operations were killed along with a volunteer escort.
A law enforcement source in Boston told The Associated Press police are trying to find a 23-year-old man named John Salvi, whose last known address was Hampton, N.H. The source said a handgun, some ammunition and a store receipt found in a duffel bag left at the second clinic led police to Salvi.
In Hampton, N.H., Salvi's boss at a beauty salon, Richard Griffin, described Salvi as ``a very odd character'' who proclaimed his opposition to abortion with a photo of a fetus on the back of his pickup truck.
Police said the gunman used a semiautomatic .22-caliber rifle in the assaults on the clinics, which are about a mile apart on Beacon Street, a busy thoroughfare in this suburban community just outside Boston.
The investigation by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms then led to a gun shop in Hampton, N.H., where the suspect had previously bought a handgun and a .22-caliber semi-automatic rifle.
Law-enforcement officials said Friday night that the gunman was believed to have escaped with the rifle, but may have used the pistol at the first clinic, operated by Planned Parenthood.
Witnesses said the gunman first stormed into the Planned Parenthood clinic shortly after 10 a.m., getting in despite the fact that the door is locked and opened by buzzer. A woman who did not identify herself said the man was asked if he needed help.
``He asked, `Is this Planned Parenthood?' '' she said. When told it was, he pulled out a gun and opened fire, hitting receptionist Shannon Lowney, 25, in the neck. She died at the scene. A female counselor and two male volunteer escorts in the waiting room were wounded in the barrage.
About 10 minutes later, the gunman entered the nearby Preterm Health Services clinic and stopped at a reception desk. ``A man came in with a black duffel bag. He took out a rifle,'' a witness who would not identify himself told reporters at the scene. ``He said, `Is this Preterm?' The woman answering the phone said `yes', and he dropped the bag and opened fire.'' The man shot the woman, then shot another woman standing at a nearby copying machine.
One badly shaken witness, Deborah Gaines, said the shooter never hesitated. ``He just started shooting and shooting and shooting. He was very angry.'' She said she would have been shot if a woman in front of her had not been struck instead.
Receptionist Leanne Nichols, 38, who was shot at least five times, died at a nearby hospital. Another woman was wounded, as was a male security guard, Richard J. Seron, 45. He told investigators he had fired four or five shots at the gunman before ducking behind a door, and said he may have wounded the man.
Several witnesses said the man fled the clinic on foot, still firing. Others said he climbed into a small, pale-colored car parked nearby and took off. Police discovered the abandoned duffel bag and recovered rounds of unused ammunition.
At first, police were not certain whether one man had carried out both assaults. But after interviewing scores of witnesses, investigating officer Robert Allen said Friday night, ``I would say it's the same shooter.''
Natalya Kabanovsky, an electrolysis technician in Preterm's building, said a man fitting the suspect's description had protested abortion there over the past several months. ``He was anxious. He wanted to tell everybody what happens here,'' she said.
The Planned Parenthood clinic was participating in a nationwide trial of the French abortion pill RU-486. Workers have received death threats at the clinic lately, and Friday began with the usual gathering of protesters outside the center, where about 3,000 abortions are performed annually, said Nicki Gamble, president of Planned Parenthood of Massachusetts.
Boston Mayor Tom Menino ordered police to guard all clinics and hospitals in the city. Gov. William F. Weld promised state police protection to clinics.
At the White House, President Clinton issued a statement saying he ``strongly condemned the meaningless violence which abruptly ended the lives of two women and wounded five others in Massachusetts today.''
The president said he had directed the Justice Department and the FBI to conduct an aggressive investigation. ``I am strongly committed to ending this form of domestic terrorism,'' he said.
The attacks fall under the new federal law protecting abortion clinics and patients from violence and harassment.
The National Abortion Federation and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, supported by an anonymous donor, offered a $100,000 award for information leading to the conviction of anyone involved in the slayings. MEMO: RECENT CLINIC VIOLENCE\ March 10, 1993 - Dr. David Gunn is shot to
death outside a Pensacola, Fla., clinic, becoming the first U.S. doctor
killed during an anti-abortion demonstration.
Michael Griffin was convicted and is serving a life sentence.
Aug. 19, 1993 - Dr. George Tiller is shot in the arms as he drives
out of the parking lot at his Wichita, Kan., clinic.
Rachelle ``Shelley'' Shannon was convicted and sentenced to 11 years
in prison.
July 29, 1994 - Dr. John Bayard Britton and his bodyguard, James H.
Barrett, are slain outside a Pensacola abortion clinic. Barrett's wife
is wounded in the attack.
Paul J. Hill, 40, a former minister and anti-abortion activist, was
convicted of murder and sentenced to death.
Nov. 8, 1994 - Dr. Garson Romalis, who performs abortions in
Vancouver, Canada, is shot in the leg while eating breakfast at home. No
arrests.
ILLUSTRATION: Associated Press color photo
A medical examiner helps remove the body of a woman killed at a
Planned Parenthood clinic in Brookline, Mass., a Boston suburb.
Map
KEYWORDS: MURDER ABORTION CLINIC SHOOTING by CNB