Abortion Doctor Is Shot, Wounded by Protester : Assault: Female suspect escapes after attack outside Wichita, Kan., clinic. Physician leaves hospital after minor surgery on both arms.

WICHITA, Kan. —  A woman seen passing out anti-abortion literature fired several shots at an abortion doctor outside his clinic Thursday evening, wounding him in both arms, police said. She fled in a getaway car.

Dr. George Tiller was still in his surgical garments when he was shot in the arms while sitting in his car in the clinic driveway, said Police Capt. Jack Leon.

Several hours later, he was released from HCA Wesley Medical Center after undergoing minor surgery on both arms, officials said.

One bullet grazed his skin and another passed through a muscle but did no serious damage, said Peggy Jarman, a spokeswoman for Tiller and the ProChoice Action League.

Tiller has been a frequent target of protests because he performs late-term abortions. His clinic was one of three where Operation Rescue attempted blockades during the summer of 1991. Witnesses told police that the woman who fired the shots had joined a small group of protesters outside the Women’s Health Care Services Clinic earlier Thursday. She handed out literature and talked with the protesters until Tiller left his clinic.

As Tiller began to drive away, the woman pulled out a gun, walked toward the car and began shooting, said Police Chief Rick Stone. He said the the woman fired multiple rounds from a handgun.

Several employees at the clinic chased the woman after the shooting, but she got into a car driven by another person and escaped, Stone said. She had not been apprehended. Investigators said the car had Oklahoma license plates.

The weapon had not been recovered, Stone said. Jarman said bullets that appeared to be from a .32-caliber gun were recovered.

Witnesses told investigators that the woman--described as white, in her late 30s, with long, brown hair--said she was not from Kansas. She indicated to some people that she was from the Sacramento area, officials said.

Police cordoned off the clinic, and Tiller’s car was left in the driveway with both doors open and the driver’s side window shattered.

During the 1991 protests, Tiller acknowledged he had taken security precautions, including sometimes wearing body armor that covered his chest, pelvic area and upper legs. He said he often traveled with a trained German shepherd guard dog.

Stone said he didn’t know if Tiller was wearing the protective clothing when he was shot.

Earlier this year, Tiller bought a second clinic in Wichita and made an unsuccessful effort to acquire a third. He also reduced his fees for a first-trimester abortion from $330 to $230. Both moves further antagonized abortion foes and even caused dismay among abortion-rights supporters, who criticized him for trying to drive his competitors out of business.

In March, Dr. David Gunn, an abortion doctor, was shot to death outside a clinic in Pensacola, Fla.