Shots fired into front of Planned Parenthood clinic in Helena
A person fired two shotgun rounds into the front entry of the Planned Parenthood clinic in Helena Thursday evening, according to local police and a spokesperson from Planned Parenthood of Montana.
No injuries were reported from the shooting, which took place shortly before 5:45 p.m.
Helena police officers could not be reached Thursday night for comment about the incident. In a Friday morning statement, Helena Police Department Assistant Chief Corey Bailey said officers responded to reports of gunshot in the neighborhood at 5:44 p.m. and were subsequently called by a business informing them that someone had shot “the front entry of their business.”
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In a statement Friday morning, Planned Parenthood of Montana communications coordinator Mary Sullivan confirmed that no injuries occured as a result of the shooting. She declined to say whether anyone was in the building at the time of the incident.
“Last evening after closing, the exterior of Planned Parenthood of Montana’s Helena location was shot at. No injuries occurred. We do not yet know the full circumstances behind the incident and are working with law enforcement to investigate. At this time, we have no further details to share,” Sullivan said. “Our focus is on our team, our patients, and ensuring safety by coordinating with law enforcement. Our doors will remain open and Planned Parenthood of Montana will never step back from providing care in a safe, supportive environment that Montanans rely on and trust.”
On Thursday evening, hours after the shooting took place, a large pink sign was attached to the window next to the clinic’s entrance, reading “These doors stay open.” Sullivan would not confirm whether the sign was covering where shots entered the building, citing the ongoing investigation.
The shooting is the first report in recent years of a violent attack on an abortion clinic in Montana. In 2015, a man was sentenced to five years in state prison for vandalizing the All Families Healthcare clinic in Kalispell, forcing the Flathead Valley’s only abortion provider to close her practice. In 1993, Blue Mountain Clinic in Missoula was firebombed by an anti-abortion activist and later rebuilt.
Violence and threats against abortion providers — as well as against anti-abortion groups and pregnancy resource centers — have ticked up nationwide in recent years. More than two dozen criminal cases are listed on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s website tracking prosecutions of “violence and other conduct” aimed at reproductive health care providers over the last decade.