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The man accused of killing three people at a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic last year was ruled incompetent to stand trial on Wednesday.
“Colorado 4th Judicial District Judge Gilbert Martinez has deemed accused Planned Parenthood shooter Robert Lewis Dear incompetent to stand trial, court spokesman Rob McCallum said,” reports CNN.
The criminal case against the shooting suspect will be put on hold until he is found mentally capable of understanding court proceedings.
Dear, 57, intends to represent himself in trial.
He faces 179 felony counts, including murder and attempted murder, from the Nov. 27 Colorado Springs clinic shooting that left three dead and nine injured.
According to Fox News, Dear will be sent to the state’s psychiatric hospital for treatment.
“Dear told people in phone calls from jail that he believes his attorneys' attempt to have him declared incompetent is part of a plot to diminish his message opposing abortion,” Fox News reports. “He claims they want him committed to a psychiatric hospital so they can ‘silence him forever.’”
Dear's mental health will be subject to review in August.