Wichita late-term abortionist George Tiller was shot and killed Sunday morning by an unknown assailant as he entered Reformation Lutheran Church, located on 13th Street in Eastern Wichita, shortly after 10 a.m.

Gordon Bassham, assistant to the chief at the Wichita Police Department, would not confirm that the victim was indeed Tiller, but he did tell Kansas Liberty that the man who was shot was a 67-year-old male who was a "high profile" community member. Bassham said the shooting took place outside of the church.

Police later confirmed to news organizations that Tiller was the victim.

Bassham said that witnesses had identified a Kansas license plate number - 225 BAB - that was traced back to a powder-blue Ford registered in the Kansas City area. Police are currently looking for this vehicle.

"We are working with state law enforcement, local law enforcement, Kansas Highway Patrol and the FBI to try and track down the individual or individuals," Bassham told Kansas Liberty.

Pro-life  representatives - as well as their opponents - are already speaking about the incident.

"Kansans for Life deplores the murder of Dr. George Tiller, and we wish to express our deep and sincere sympathy to his family and friends," Kansans for Life executive director Mary Kay Culp said in a statement. "We value life, completely deplore violence, and are shocked and very upset by what happened in Wichita today."

Operation Rescue, a pro-life activist group located in Wichita, also issued a statement a few hours after the shooting.

"We are shocked at this morning's disturbing news that Mr. Tiller was gunned down," OR president Troy Newman said. "Operation Rescue has worked for years through peaceful, legal means, and through the proper channels to see him brought to justice. We denounce vigilantism and the cowardly act that took place this morning."

Sen. David Haley, D-Kansas City, an abortion supporter, said he was deeply saddened by the event.

"It is unfortunate that in a free and open society and in a democracy we have yet to find a way to peacefully resolve our differences on the social issues of today," Haley told Kansas Liberty.

Haley said he was hopeful that whoever was responsible for the murder would stand up and admit to the crime.

Tiller has been the target of protests for many years, as he is one of the nation's only abortionists who will perform late-term abortions. Tiller was also shot twice in the arms in 1993 by a protester. Tiller was a long-time supporter of former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius who recently left Kansas to become the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

- Holly Smith

Updates:

June 2

Holly Smith reports:

The suspect in the George Tiller murder, Scott Roeder, is expected to make his first appearance in court Tuesday at 3 pm. Roeder will appear before Judge Ben Burgess in the Sedgwick County Court House. The Sedgwick County District Attorney's office is not commenting on the pending appearance.

June 1

3:39 pm

Holly Smith reports:

A still photo from a KMBC News report of the inside of Tiller murder suspect Scott Roeder's car shows the name "Cheryl" written in cursive letters along with a phone number that appears to correspond with Cheryl Sullenger, spokesperson for the anti-abortion Wichita-based group Operation Rescue.

Sullenger told Kansas Liberty that she never personally gave her phone number to Roeder though she has talked to him on the phone before. Sullenger pointed out that her phone number is available for anyone with internet access to view on the Operation Rescue web site as well as on press releases sent out by the group.

"My number is everywhere and so I get calls from people across the country," Sullenger told Kansas Liberty. "Some of the people who call me are nice, and some of them are nuts. I don't do a background check on everyone who calls obviously."

Sullenger said that the last time she spoke with Roeder was when he called to find out information about the George Tiller trial, which took place in March. Sullenger said Roeder was not someone she knew well.

"It is shocking to realize that someone I was even remotely aware of would do that," Sullenger said. "I don't know how he got my number or who may have written it down for him. I would just assume he got it off a press release."

4:55 am

More reactions. Reactions to the murder of George Tiller continue. Yesterday, Pres. Barack Obama expressed his "shock and outrage" at the killing, according to the AP. 

Today, Kansas' Catholic bishops released a joint statement saying, "We, the four Catholic Bishops of the Dioceses of Kansas, unequivocally condemn the murder of Dr. George Tiller that occurred in Wichita earlier today.  The Catholic Church believes that every human life is sacred.  The murder of a human being is the gravest of crimes and is an intrinsic evil.  Such an act of violence against human life is a contradiction of the most fundamental principle of the Pro-Life movement.  The fact that this attack occurred in a church, a place of prayer and worship, only adds to the horror of this terrible crime.  We prayerfully commend Dr. George Tiller to the mercy of God and we pray for comfort and consolation for his family and friends."

The statement was signed by Joseph F. Naumann, Archbishop of Kansas City in Kansas; Ronald M. Gilmore, Bishop of Dodge City; Paul S. Coakley, Bishop of Salina; and Michael O. Jackels, Bishop of Wichita.

The Kansas City Star yesterday blamed "the vitriolic  campaign that has been waged against Tiller for more than two decades by anti-abortion groups" for the slaying. The Star didn't specifically include the Roman Catholic Church, but instead claimed anyone in the pro-life movement who has called Tiller's late-term abortions "murder" has made themselves "accomplices" in the shooting.

The Kansas Meadowlark traces Roeder's previous encounters with the law. Another source tells Kansas Liberty that voter rolls show Roeder hasn't voted in Kansas in at least 14 years.

12:58 am:

Holly Smith reports: An acquaintance of Scott Roeder, who reportedly was brought in this afternoon as a suspect in the George Tiller murder said that Roeder was not a particularly violent individual.

Eugene Frye, a Kansas City resident and pro-life activist, said he has known Scott Roeder since about the mid 1990s and said that this demonstration of violence was very much out of character for Roeder.

"I had never seen Scott display anger or show any type of bitterness," Frye told Kansas Liberty.

Frye said Roeder's activism passion had always been about federal taxes, though Frye said Roeder did periodically attend pro-life events. Frye said the last time he spoke with Roeder was a couple of weeks ago and that Frye had talked to him about how he attended the George Tiller hearing. Frye said Roeder was upset with the trial and said that Roeder thought the trial was a "sham."

Tiller had been charged with violating a Kansas law the requires women to gain a second opinion from a physician not affiliated with the abortionist before obtaining a late-term abortion. He was found not guilty on all counts.

"Maybe that triggered him to put some energies towards Tiller," Frye said. "I really don't know. I am just as surprised as anybody."

Frye said that he had never known Roeder to have a wife or family.

9:50 pm:

Bud Norman reports: About four hundred people attended a vigil for Tiller at 8 p.m. Sunday at a neon-lit square in Wichita’s Old Town district, home to trendy bars and shops. The mostly young and hip crowd looked much like the usual weekend revelers.

The event was perhaps more a pro-abortion, pro-Tiller demonstration than a "vigil." A small group of protesters from Fred Phelps’ Westboro Baptist Church waved anti-abortion and anti-homosexual signs on a sidewalk across the street from the gathering, with a phalanx of law enforcement officers separating them from the others who were exchanging taunts with them.

In their haste to arrange the event, publicized first on text-messages and then in local media, organizers forgot to bring any public-address equipment, meaning the speeches were heard only by the people standing closest to them, and only a few candles were provided for what had been billed as a "candlelight vigil." Most of the talking was conducted in private conversations by people who exchanged hugs and condolences and sometimes tears.

Media and police were both well represented.

6: 31 pm

Holly Smith reports: While the police are not able to confirm to Kansas Liberty (or to other news organizations) that the suspect's name is Scott Roeder, news outlets have been reporting that a man with that name had been arrested in suspicion of the Tiller slaying.

A quick online search shows that a man named Scott Roeder once posted on the Wichita-based anti-abortion group, Operation Rescue's web site.

President of OR Troy Newman confirmed to Kansas Liberty that a man named Scott Roeder did post on an OR blog a few years ago but said that he did not know if it was the same Roeder and said that anyone can post on the blog.

"This person has no connection to our organization whatsoever," Newman told Kansas Liberty. "He is not a volunteer, he is not a member or a contributor. He has no affiliation whatsoever. The blog posting is open to everyone we don't know who posts or where they are from."

Bud Norman notes that a 1996 AP report says that Scott Roeder, formerly of Silver Lake, was arrested in Topeka 13 years ago on explosives charges. At the time, authorities linked Roeder to the Freemen militia group, according to the report. It is not yet known if this is the same Scott Roeder, or indeed, if "Scott Roeder" is even the suspect arrested earlier today.

5:25 pm:

KSHB-41 reports:

Johnson County Sheriff's deputies stopped Scott Roeder on I-35 between the two main Gardner exits around 1:30 p.m. He surrendered without incident.

According to Lt. Mike Phannestiel, Roeder is on temporary hold for Sedgwick County at the Johnson County New Century Detention Center near Gardner. Roeder is a possible suspect; he has not been officially charged.

3:55 pm:

Holly Smith reports:

Johnson County Deputy Sheriff Tom Erickson, public information officer with the JoCo Sheriff's Department, has just confirmed to Kansas Liberty that a male suspect in the Tiller murder had been taken into custody at about 2 pm today. Erickson said the suspect was apprehended without incident while he was traveling north on I-35. Erickson said the JoCo sheriff's department would be holding the suspect until the Wichita Police Department arrived and that the suspect would then be transported to Wichita.

3:32pm: