WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Friday opened an investigation into the killing of Kansas abortion provider George Tiller to see whether the shooting suspect had accomplices.
The department will investigate possible federal crimes in connection with Tiller’s slaying at his church Sunday in Wichita. State prosecutors have already ruled out seeking the death penalty against the shooting suspect, but federal prosecutors did not rule out doing so as they announced their own investigation.
“The Department of Justice will work tirelessly to determine the full involvement of any and all actors in this horrible crime,” said Loretta King, head of the department’s civil rights division.
Anyone who played a role in the killing, she said, will be prosecuted “to the full extent of federal law.” The department will seek to determine whether the killing violated a 1994 law creating criminal penalties for violent or damaging conduct toward abortion providers and their patients.
Police have charged Scott Roeder, 51, with Tiller’s death. After the killing, U.S. marshals began providing security to some abortion providers and clinics across the country.
