The True Story of Anti-Abortion Killer James Kopp
Sniper opens in October 1998 near Buffalo, NY. A man is
alone in the dark in a forest. He clutches an assault rifle and is
thinking about his mission. "You can cut holes in the fences around
the death camps," he thinks. "A trickle of relief in the abortion
holocaust. It is your duty to do it." He nestles the rifle into his
shoulder and shoots at his target through the back window of
a house, then flees. Barnett Sepia, a doctor who provides
abortions, is fatally wounded.
The shooter is James Kopp, the son of a Marine, who came to
embrace the pro-life cause and ultimately the notion of
"justifiable homicide: against abortion providers. Kopp fancies
himself a lone wolf in the movement; a celibate man driven to
"defend the unborn." He is nicknamed "Atomic Dog" in the movement
and helps orchestrate assaults on abortion clinics. As the story
unfolds, he becomes the central figure in an international manhunt
for multiple shootings in Canada. On the FBI''s Top Ten Most Wanted
list, Kopp flees to Mexico, Ireland, and France. Award-winning
journalist Jon wells followed Kopp''s footsteps, traveled to his
hometown, and interviewed investigators in the U.S., Canada,
Ireland, and France to tell this gripping detective story and dark
psychological drama.