Obama says violence not answer, calls shooting of anti-abortion activist ‘deplorable’

Obama deplores shooting of anti-abortion activist

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is calling the shooting of a Michigan anti-abortion activist “deplorable.”

The White House on Sunday released a statement from the president on the shooting of James Pouillon. Obama says that “whichever side of a public debate you’re on, violence is never the right answer.”

The two-sentence statement comes after a Friday shooting spree that left Pouillon and business owner Mike Fuoss dead in the small Michigan city of Owosso. Pouillon was shot while standing across the street from a school, holding a sign that pictured the image of an aborted fetus.

A truck driver was arraigned on charges of first-degree murder later Friday.