Pro-Abortion Man Who Shot Pro-Life Advocate Jim Pouillon Attempts Suicide
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
September 14, 2009
Owosso, MI (LifeNews.com) — The Michigan man who shot pro-life advocate Jim Pouillon on Friday morning, because he didn’t like his protests outside a high school against abortion, attempted to commit suicide on Saturday. Harlan J. Drake, 33, of Owosso, is also accused of killing another man with whom he had a dispute.
Shiawassee County Sheriff George Braidwood said Drake tried to commit suicide on Saturday in his prison cell.
Drake reportedly was treated for a gash on his wrist after using a broken-off piece of his jail television set to cut himself.
Braidwood said Drake is now being kept away from other prisoners and is under 24-hour observation because of the attempted suicide. Jail staff had been checking his prison cell every 15 minutes and rushed to it when they heard the television break.
Braidwood says Drake has been “very passive” since returning to jail and has no television now.
Drake is charged with fatally shooting Pouillon as he protested abortion outside the school and then killing a local businessman, Mike Fuoss.
Officials on Friday confirmed that abortion was the motive in Pouillon’s death.
"Defendant was offended by the manner of Mr. Pouillon’s message," said Shiawasee County Prosecutor Randy Colbry. "It seemed to bother him he was outside with his signs in front of the children."
Drake was apprehended at his home in the community half an hour from Lansing. He is now being held without bond and was arraigned Friday on two counts of first-degree murder and other gun-related crimes and is due back in court on September 25.
Officials said Drake planned on killing a local realtor he also had a grudge against.
According to the Flint Journal newspaper, sixteen-year-old Alex Garcia was driving to Owosso High School when he heard a pop and 10 yards away saw pro-life advocate Pouillon jerk his shoulder back before being shot again.
"I heard another shot from this white pickup, and saw the bullet hit his chest, and he fell to his knees," said Garcia. "Then there were two more shots — to his chest again and his stomach, and then he fell forward. His nose was directly in the grass."
Garcia immediately rushed to Pouillon and didn’t think about the shooter coming back.
"I didn’t even think about if the shooter was coming back. I was focused on helping Mr. Pouillon," he said. "I was asking him, ‘Are you OK? Are you OK?’ but there was no answer. I yelled for people to call 911."
"I couldn’t see any breathing and I tried to find a pulse and couldn’t. People were saying to flip him over, and we did. Blood was all over his shirt and coming out of his mouth. We knew he was dead," he told the Journal.
Pro-life advocates have condemned the murder but President Barack Obama waited over two days to finally issue a statement. That’s after he quickly issued lengthier comments condemning the shooting of late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller.
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