Garrett Swasey, the police officer killed during the attack on a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Colorado earlier today, was a co-pastor in his local church and personally pro-life, according to reports.

Three people died and nine were injured in the attacks. A 59-year-old man, Robert Lewis Dear, has been arrested.

According to the New York Times, Swasey was described by his fellow church members and friends as a courageous man and loving father who drew strength and inspiration from his Christian faith.

Swasey was married with two young children and served on the campus of the University of Colorado. He was the co-pastor at Colorado Springs' Hope Chapel for seven years.

Another co-pastor, Scott Dontanville, who knew Swasey fo 15 years, said: "Here's a guy who worked full time as a police officer, and then gave a great amount of time to his local church and didn't get a dime for it. He did it because it was the thing that he felt he needed to do."

Fellow co-pastor Kurt Aichele, a close friend, said Swasey was once a nationally ranked figure skater and ice dancer and moved to Colorado Springs years ago to train.

said that when it was clear Swasey had died, they had gathered at his home, where his wife broke the news to their 10-year-old son and six-year-old daughter.

"She had to tell her kids that their daddy wasn't coming home," Aichele said.

The newspaper says that reports that Officer Swasey would have "disagreed with the abortion industry", according to those who know him best.