OWOSSO, Mich. — In what may be the first killing of a person protesting abortion, a retired autoworker in Michigan was gunned down Sept. 11 as he held a pro-life placard outside a high school in Owosso, Mich., near Flint.
Over the course of two decades, James Pouillon, 63, stood in public areas holding signs protesting abortion. The particular one he held Sept. 11 outside the school pictured a chubby-cheeked baby with the word “life” on one side and an image of an aborted fetus with the word “abortion” on the other.
President Obama called the shooting “deplorable.”
“Whichever side of a public debate you’re on, violence is never the right answer,” Obama said.
Harlan Drake, 33, an Owosso truck driver, is in custody for shooting Pouillon and a local gravel company owner the same day. A third man, a real estate agent, also allegedly was on his hit list. Investigators believe Drake held grudges against all three men.
According to a report by NBC-25, a Michigan television station, the director of public safety for the Owosso police department said detectives believe Drake killed Pouillon because of his demonstrations against abortion.
“I don’t think he knew him personally,” Michael Compeau told the TV station. “Drake was aware of him and was offended by the material that Mr. Pouillon carried with him.”
The New York Times characterized Pouillon as a man known for standing for hours in the small, rural town, “waving graphic signs and breaking the idyllic quiet with loud anti-abortion rants.” The newspaper said residents referred to Pouillon as “the sign man,” and quoted one person who said he was “just too in-your-face.”
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