September 11, 2009 4:44 PM

Jim Pouillon, Anti-Abortion Activist Murdered in Front of School

By
Ryan Smith
Topics
Daily Blotter
(AP Photo/The Argus-Press)
Photo: Anti-abortion activist Jim Pouillon, left, has a heated discussion with a Planned Parenthood employee in Owosso, Mich. in August 2002.

OWOSSO, Mich. (CBS/AP) Jim Pouillon, an anti-abortion protester familiar to residents of a Michigan community was shot to death outside a high school in front of horrified students and parents, according to police.

Owosso police chief Michael Compeau said Pouillon, 63, was outside the school with a sign when a man drove by and shot him Friday morning.

Police have arrested a suspected gunman, but have decline to release his identity. The gunman allegedly told officers arresting him that he was involved in a second killing that day, authorities said.

Officials found the body of Mike Fuoss, 61, in the office of his gravel production company. Sheriff George Braidwood said Fuoss and the gunman knew each other.

Owosso Police Chief Michael Compeau said authorities did not know whether the suspect knew the anti-abortion activist, Pouillon, who was shot across the street from the school in the town about 70 miles northwest of Detroit.

Police declined to release the gunman's identity and no other injuries were reported. No motive was given for the shootings, but Compeau said he believed Pouillon appeared to be a target.

"I would speculate it was ... intended," Compeau said. "He was out protesting right across the street from the high school ... and there (were) multiple people around there and that person was targeted."

Hours after the shootings, authorities working behind yellow crime tape near the school removed Pouillon's oxygen tank and the sign he held — it had a graphic image of an aborted fetus.

Students said Pouillon was a fixture outside the high school and regularly held graphic signs.

"I can see someone spitting on him or punching him, but shooting him is pretty stupid. It's not something you expect in Owosso," said 16-year-old Curtis Wisterman.

After the shooting, all schools in the district were locked down, but opened up again after the suspect was arrested, said Julie Omer, business manager for Owosso Public Schools.

Troy Newman, president of the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, said he wept when he received word that Pouillon, his friend and colleague, had been killed.

"He was just a kind, gentle man who loved life and endeavored to save other people's lives," Newman said.

Residents who live near the gravel pit company were also trying to come to grips with what happened.

Fuoss was very business-oriented, but cordial, said 61-year-old Linda Strieff, a longtime neighbor who stood outside the gravel pit.


Add a Comment
by glddraco June 2, 2011 8:45 PM EDT
Good the man deserved what he got. Justice for people like Dr Tiller. The only shame is that it wasn't Bill O'Reilly this man shot.
Reply to this comment
by mauiswift September 14, 2009 12:27 AM EDT
Did you know Jim Pouillon? Your opinion is a creationist's, what someone chooses is their own business. "Opinion" being the operative word.
Reply to this comment
by mauiswift September 14, 2009 12:22 AM EDT
I cannot say that murdering is an answer to anything, but this person engaged in high profile protesting, making himself a target. I disagree with people who obsessively protest, it becomes their identify, therefore going too far. There have been many doctors murdered by anti-abortionists as well, although, it appears that his murder was not a direct result in his protesting, hence most likely his high profile in the community.
Reply to this comment
by Hermotimus September 13, 2009 2:25 PM EDT
I consider the headline of this article as well as its focus to be incorrect and misleading. The suspect in this case also killed a gravel pit owner and was on his way to kill another man when he was stopped by police and arrested! His other victim nor his intended third victim had nothing to do with the anti-abortion movement! This man killed because he decided he was going to kill people who had annoyed him. He choose the anti-abortion individual as one of his targets because he felt annoyed by that individual, not because that individual was a representative of the anti-abortion movement!
Reply to this comment
by idontbuyit September 13, 2009 1:51 AM EDT
more nonsense in an upside-down world: moms slaughter their unborn live and defenseless children and we call it "prochoice." one adult kills another and suddenly its "murder." Hey, but don't delay in drawing-up that legislation that will hold farmers liable for placing their livestock too close together in their pens because now that would be "animal cruelty." Only in America.
Reply to this comment
by family2010 September 12, 2009 2:53 AM EDT
Violence begets violence. That's all I'm going to say.
Reply to this comment
by Devsky September 12, 2009 2:28 AM EDT
Obama had better d@mn well condemn Pouillon's murder more than he did Tiller's justifiable execution. Pouillon never laid a hand on anyone and only wanted to end an evil and injustice that happens in America. My, those abortionist lovers certainly delight in murdering, don't they?
Reply to this comment
by teresaavila September 11, 2009 11:08 PM EDT
Jim Pouillon was a lover of life and was not anti anything. The headline should read
"Pro-Life Activist Murdered in Front of School." When will the world face it that voluntary removal of fetal children is no different than shooting the mother in the womb? Except that suddenly the mother's life is likely to be taken, too? Shoot a man in the chest, remove a child, life ceases to exist.
Reply to this comment
by aiibis September 11, 2009 5:01 PM EDT
great local blog about this at

http://donate-blogs.blogspot.com/
Reply to this comment
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