Canadian police are anxious to speak with suspected abortion sniper James Kopp and any Canadian supporters who may have helped him while he was on the run for more than two years. Kopp was arrested in France on Thursday.

Extradition proceedings are underway to send Kopp to the United States, where he is charged with the 1998 killing of Dr. Barnett Slepian, an abortion provider who was shot and killed in his Amherst, N.Y., home.

Kopp, known in anti-abortion circles as the "Atomic Dog," has also been charged with the 1995 attempted murder of Dr. Hugh Short, an abortion provider from Ancaster, Ont., and is a prime suspect in attacks on doctors in Winnipeg, Vancouver and Rochester, N.Y.

PREVIOUS ATTACKS

Nov 8, 1994: Dr. Romalis shot in his Vancouver home.

Nov. 10, 1995: Dr. Hugh Short of Ancaster, Ont., was shot while watching television. The bullet shattered his right elbow.

Oct. 28, 1997: An unidentified Rochester, N.Y. physician, was shot in the shoulder.

Nov. 11, 1997: Dr. Jack Fainman of Winnipeg was hit in the shoulder by a bullet.

Oct. 23, 1998: Dr. Barnett Slepian, 52, of Amherst, N.Y., was killed by a bullet fired through his kitchen window.

Soon after his arrest, Canadian police requested an interview with Kopp. They say they also want to talk to Canadians who may have provided Kopp with the means to stay on the run for so long. Police say some of those suspects have been identified and the investigation is continuing.

Dr. Henry Morgentaler, Canada's most well-known and outspoken abortion provider, says he is not surprised the police are looking for Canadians, "because the targets were three Canadian doctors who were relatively unknown at the time of the shooting."

"Obviously he had some Canadian contacts who pointed out the names and locations of these Canadian doctors ... We know from our own experience that the anti-choice people from Buffalo and Toronto are linked."

The Winnipeg police officer in charge of a task force investigating the Canadian shootings said the arrest is a big step forward.

"This is certainly putting new life into the investigation," said Insp. Keith McCaskill. "We want to speak to Mr. Kopp. We've always said we believe he holds the key to offences that have not been solved in Canada."

U.S. police have also arrested Loretta Marra, 37, and Dennis Malvasi, 51, of New York City. They are charged with harbouring the fugitive.

The FBI says a series of intercepted e-mail messages show Kopp asked Marra and Malvasi to send money so he could sneak back into the U.S. through Montreal.

Listed as one of the FBI's 10 most wanted fugitives, Kopp was captured outside a post office in the northwestern French community of Dinan, after he picked up a package containing $300 apparently sent by supporters in the U.S.

If convicted in the U.S., Kopp might never stand trial in Canada – a prospect that is of little concern to Det. Supt. Dennis McGillis of the Ontario Provincial Police.

"If he's incarcerated [in the U.S.] for life, then it's as good as we could have done in Canada," McGillis said from Buffalo Thursday, where he was attending the FBI news conference.

'Wonderful news' to abortion providers

Canadian abortion providers expressed relief to hear Kopp had been caught.

It was "wonderful news," said Morgentaler. "He was a constant menace and threat to all of us and finally he's been caught.

"Hopefully he will be brought to justice and we can start to breathe a bit easier for ourselves and our families," he said.

Morgentaler says abortion doctors have been taking extraordinary precautions to avoid being injured or killed, including wearing bulletproof vests.

Police say Short, who was shot in the elbow while watching television, was ecstatic when he was told Kopp had been nabbed.

U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft said U.S., Canadian, French, Irish and British police forces worked together on the arrest.

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