Interim Staff
In a stunning development as this issue of The Interim went to press, it was learned that the accused killer of Buffalo, N.Y. abortionist Barnett Slepian confessed to the crime in an interview with the Buffalo News newspaper.
James Kopp said he didn’t intend to kill Slepian, and “was horrified” when he learned through the media later that the abortionist had died. “I regret that he died,” he said. “I aimed at his shoulder … One of my goals was to keep Dr. Slepian alive, and I failed at that goal.”
Kopp added that he worked alone in the Slepian shooting. He said he obtained Slepian’s name from the Yellow Pages and that, “No one in the pro-life community handed me a dossier on Dr. Slepian. That would have made my job easier.”
His confession is bound to confound some in the pro-life community, who had been emphasizing that Kopp was a pacifist, a poor marksman and that he was being framed by the FBI.
Kopp declined to answer questions regarding his involvement in other shootings of abortionists in recent years. He noted that he learned to become an expert shooter in preparation for the attack.
Campaign Life Coalition president Jim Hughes re-iterated that pro-life supporters oppose all violence, whether perpetrated in the womb or against abortionists. He also told The Interim that it is important not to jump to conclusions about an accused person’s guilt or innocence. “Let this work its way through the courts,” he said.
