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Attorney General, Mayor Honor Planned Parenthood Attack First Responders

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS4/AP)- The first responders who put themselves in harms way during the November 2015 shooting at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs were honored on Tuesday morning.

SHOOTING RECOGNITION 5VO.transfer
Attorney General Cynthia Coffman talks with a first responder (credit: CBS)

Prosecutors have charged Robert Lewis Dear with 179 counts of crimes including first-degree murder, attempted murder and assault in the Nov. 27 attack that left three people dead and nine others injured.

John Suthers
Former Attorney General and Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers at the ceremony (credit: CBS)

Attorney General Cynthia Coffman and former Attorney General and Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers awarded the Spirit of the Springs award to Dr. Derek Hurst, Cathy Stark and four others on Tuesday for their response to the Nov. 27 shooting.

"This community is defined by how we responded to this incident, not by one person who engaged in this senseless act of violence," Suthers said.

Robert Lewis Dear
Robert Lewis Dear in court on Dec. 9, 2015 (credit: CBS)

The other honorees were Michael Hagiwara, a nurse who helped Dr. Hurst, and Kelly Hayes, Bridget Holisky and Carmella Vega who work in nearby medical offices.

Suthers' office says Stark, an assistant store manager at King Soopers, worked with her team to keep customers safe and comfortable and distributed coloring books and crayons to the children.

During a court appearance, Dear, 57, declared himself "a warrior for the babies" and said he was guilty.

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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