Robert Lewis Dear, who is accused of killing three people at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado, has said in court that he is guilty and a “warrior for the babies”.

“I am guilty. There will be no trial. I am a warrior for the babies,” the man said during a court hearing where prosecutors announced his charges.

Robert Lewis Dear, 57, faces 179 charges for the attack that killed two civilians and a police officer, and wounded nine.

During the hearing, he was formally charged with first-degree murder.

The Planned Parenthood group has drawn anti-abortion protests in the past.

Robert Dear said something about “no more baby parts” during his arrest and had asked for directions to the clinic prior to the attack.

“You’ll never know what I saw in that clinic. Atrocities. The babies. That’s what they want to seal,” he said during the hearing.

Those who were killed in the attack include police officer Garrett Swasey, 44, Iraq War veteran Ke’Arre Stewart, 29, and Jennifer Markovsky, 35, who was taking a friend to the clinic.

Police have not discussed a motive in the shooting despite signs that Robert Dear was concerned about abortion, a service provided by Planned Parenthood, a national family planning clinic.