Man faces felony charges after shooting outside Kansas Planned Parenthood

A 22-year-old man is facing charges after allegedly threatening pro-life advocates and firing a gun outside an abortion facility in Overland Park, Kansas.

Key Takeaways:

• Dmarieon Matthews, 22, was accompanying a female to the Overland Park Planned Parenthood when he reportedly became agitated because she refused to exit the vehicle.

• When pro-life advocates tried to verbally intervene, he allegedly pointed a gun at one of them, and then fired it into the ground.

• He has been charged with one count of felony aggravated assault, two counts of felony aggravated child endangerment, and one count of misdemeanor marijuana possession.

The Details:

According to Overland Park police spokesperson John Lacy, authorities were called to the Planned Parenthood facility around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 14, for reports of a verbal dispute that had escalated to shots being fired.

Dmarieon Matthews, 22, was reportedly accompanying a female to the abortion facility when they engaged in a dispute. Nearby sidewalk counselors tried to verbally intervene in the argument, which resulted in Matthews waving the gun in the air and pointing it at one of the pro-lifers, then turning and firing it into the ground.

“It was discovered that the male and female were already in a fight on the way to Planned Parenthood, which continued in the parking lot,” Lacy said. “The protesters were verbally intervening with the male and female’s disturbance.”

According to the spokesperson, Matthews returned to his vehicle after firing the shot — where an adult female and two children were waiting — and drove away. The Planned Parenthood facility went into lockdown.

The Johnson County District Attorney’s Office has charged Matthews with one count of felony aggravated assault, two counts of felony aggravated child endangerment, and one count of misdemeanor marijuana possession. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 26.

Zoom In:

The group Abortion is Murder KS (AIM) has released a statement indicating members of its group were involved in the altercation.

The group's statement also says that Matthews reportedly became agitated when the woman he drove with refused to leave the vehicle after arriving at the abortion facility.

The man may have been attempting to coerce the woman into an abortion she did not want — a situation that occurs frequently.

One study found that 64% of women who had abortions said they were pressured to do so, while a separate study of women who sought post-abortion counseling found that nearly 74% of those women felt some form of pressure to have an abortion.

The Bottom Line:

The killing of a defenseless preborn child is the ultimate form of violence. Preborn babies and their mothers deserve to be protected from all violent acts.