Product Description
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.
About the Author
Jon Wells has written six multi-week book-length true crime stories for the Hamilton Spectator. His 2003 story "Poison" won a National Newspaper Award. A graduate of the master's journalism program at Carleton University in Ottawa, Jon was named Journalist of the Year in 2005 for Sniper. The author's research for the crime stories has taken him to India, Ireland, France, San Francisco, New York city, and western Canada, and Into prisons where he has interviewed five convicted killers. He has also conducted research in forensic labs and on shooting ranges.