Congresswoman Giffords, Others Shot/Killed in Arizona

[stjr]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/us/politics/09giffords.html?src=mv



January 8, 2011
Congresswoman Giffords Shot in Tucson
By J. DAVID GOODMAN

Gabrielle Giffords, a congresswoman from Arizona, was shot in the head on Saturday at a public event held at a grocery store in Tucson, her spokesman, C. J. Karamargin, said. Others at the event, including members of her staff, were among the injured.

Her condition was unknown. She was taken to University Medical Center in Tucson, the trauma center for the area, about 10 miles away. Even though NPR and CNN reported that she had been killed, Darci Slater, a hospital spokeswoman, said that Ms. Giffords was in surgery.

CNN quoted a public information officer for the sheriff’s office as saying that 12 people had been injured in all and that the shooting had occurred around 10 a.m. local time.

Dr. Steven Rayle, a former emergency room doctor who now works in a hospice, said that he had witnessed the shootings. He said the congresswoman was standing behind a table outside the Safeway greeting passersby when the gunman approached her from behind, held a gun about a foot from her head and began firing.

. “He must have got off 20 rounds,” he said. Ms. Giffords slumped to the ground and staff members immediately rushed to her aid, Dr. Rayle said.

Dr. Rayle said he performed CPR on some of the victims. He said one of the victims was a young child and appeared to be in critical condition with a gunshot wound.

He said that one of the staffers tackled the gunman and that he and others helped detain the suspect. The doctor described the gunman as a white male in his mid-20s with short hair and “dressed in a shabby manner.”

An employee at a nearby store told CNN that he heard a steady stream of gun fire that appeared sustained and “random.” Shortly after, emergency vehicles filled the parking lot around the grocery story and cordoned off the area.

The shooting occurred at a Safeway supermarket in northwest Tucson as Ms. Giffords hosted an event, called “Congress on Your Corner, to allow members of the 8th Congressional District to meet her individually. She has held several events since first taking office in January 2007. At one such event in 2009, a protester was removed by police when his pistol fell on the supermarket floor.

Last March, her Tucson office was vandalized a few hours after the House vote overhauling the nation’s health care system, the authorities said. Earlier events in Tucson, Oro Valley, Green Valley, Sierra Vista, and Douglas had attracted between 75 and 150 people, according to a statement announcing the event. This was her first event since her re-election to a third term in November.

Ms. Giffords, 40, was interviewed on Fox news on Friday to talk about a bill to cut to congressional salaries by 5 percent.

She married Cmdr. Mark E. Kelly, 46, a NASA astronaut and Navy pilot from New Jersey, in December 2007 at a wedding attended by Robert B. Reich, the former Labor secretary.

Marc Lacey contributed reporting from Tucson.

[kells904]

Fox News is reporting that she's responding to doctors now.

[vicupstate]

A 9 year old girl and a Federal Judge have been killed, as have at least  3 others.

[Coolyfett]

The reports I have read says she is dead.

[stjr]

The reports I have read says she is dead.

Cooly, it appears you need to get a speedier internet connection.  Every report since mid-afternoon has indicated she had surgery, is in recovery, and doctors are optimistic since she responded to instructions.  I agree, sounds incredible given she was shot through the head, but that's what the doctors are reporting.

According to Arizona media reports, the Federal judge was passing by the outside table to enter the store to grocery shop and had nothing to do with the Congresswoman's event other than maybe to pause and pay his respects.  The little girl tagged along with a neighbor who thought she might want to go since she was just elected to her school's student council.  Just shows we should never take a moment of life for granted.

Here is the latest from CNN:

(CNN) -- A federal judge was killed and a congresswoman gravely wounded Saturday in a shooting outside of a Tucson, Arizona, grocery store, according to police and government officials.

In all, six people died and 12 were wounded in the shooting, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Arizona, according to Rick Kastigar, bureau chief for the Pima County Sheriff's Department.

President Barack Obama later said Chief Judge John Roll of the U.S. District Court for Arizona was among the dead.

Gabe Zimmerman, the director of community outreach in the congresswoman's Tuscon office, died in the attack, Giffords' press secretary C.J. Karamargin said, as did a 9-year-old girl, according to authorities.

The girl is one of four victims whose identity has not yet been released.

An Arizona law enforcement source and a federal law enforcement source identified the suspect as Jared Lee Loughner. Other law enforcement sources put his age at 22. U.S. Capitol Police said the suspect was in custody.

Police recovered a 9mm Glock Model 19 handgun, according to senior law enforcement sources. The weapon had a 30-round magazine, a federal law enforcement source briefed on the investigation said.

An Arizona law enforcement source told CNN that Loughner is not talking to investigators and has invoked his right against self-incrimination.

Dr. Peter Rhee of University Medical Center in Tucson, said Giffords, 40, had undergone surgery for a single gunshot to the head that passed through her brain. Giffords was among five patients listed in critical condition, Rhee said.

At least two victims with gunshot wounds were transported to another hospital, Northwest Medical Center, according to spokesman Richard Parker.

Kastigar declined to comment on a possible motive for the attack.

The attack occurred after 10 a.m. (noon ET) outside a Safeway grocery store where Giffords was holding a previously scheduled constituent meeting.

Giffords staffer Mark Kimble told CNN affiliate KGUN that the congresswoman did not have any security with her Saturday morning, which was not unusual for her.

"She wants to be as accessible to the people who elected her as possible," Kimble said.

Karamargin said he was not aware of any call for Giffords to heighten her security measures because of recent threats.

Tucson police Chief Roberto Villasenor said his department had secured the homes and offices of some unnamed federal officials as a "precautionary measure."

Although U.S. Capitol Police said there was no evidence of a broader threat involving federal officials, the agency said it had advised other members of Congress to take "reasonable and prudent precautions regarding their personal safety and security," the agency said in a statement.

Obama said he had directed FBI Director Robert Mueller to travel to Arizona to support the investigation. An FBI spokesman said the agency was sending agents to the scene,

Rhee, in a brief news conference at the hospital, said that Giffords had been moved to intensive care from surgery and said he was "very optimistic" about her recovery.

"I'm about as optimistic as it can get in this situation," he said.

He said the next 24 hours will be key for determining the extent of her recovery.

Giffords, a Democrat, was first elected in 2006. She has served as chairwoman of the House Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee and also holds seats on the House Science and Technology and Armed Services committees.

She won her third term in a closely contested race against a Tea Party-sponsored candidate and was one of three Democratic legislators who reported vandalism at their offices following the March vote on health care reform.

She is married to Navy Capt. Mark Kelly, a NASA astronaut who is scheduled to lead a space shuttle mission to the International Space Station.

Roll was a 1991 Bush appointee to the federal bench. The chief judge for the U.S. District Court for Arizona, he was originally from Pennsylvania.

Colleagues and admirers of Giffords and Roll reacted quickly to the shooting.

Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, said the attack was committed by a "wicked person who has no sense of justice or compassion."

"Whoever did this, whatever their reason, they are a disgrace to Arizona, this country and the human race, and they deserve and will receive the contempt of all decent people and the strongest punishment of the law," he said.

Obama called the attack an "unspeakable tragedy."

"We do not yet have all the answers," he said. What we do know is that such a senseless and terrible act of violence has no place in a free society."

House Speaker John Boehner said he was "horrified" by the shooting.

"An attack on one who serves is an attack on all who serve," he said. "Acts and threats of violence against public officials have no place in our society."

Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts issued a statement decrying the shootings and the loss of Roll, whom he called a "wise jurist who selflessly served Arizona and the nation with great distinction."

"Chief Judge Roll's death is a somber reminder of the rule of law and the sacrifices of those who work to secure it," Roberts said.

Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, said an incident like this could have a chilling effect on the frequent weekend listening post sessions many members of Congress have with their constituents.

"It does give you pause," Pingree said.

CNN's Jessica Yellin, Susan Candiotti, Jeanne Meserve, Dana Bash and Nick Valencia contributed to this report.

[civil42806]

Who knows what he was, but a nut seems to be sure

http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/01/08/arizona.shootings.suspect.social/index.html?hpt=T1

[Shwaz]

Well that's an unfair assumption. The NY Times is reporting the shooter was described by friends as "left of center" and "very liberal". On his personal web profiles his favorite reads included Karl Marx and Hitler.

It's pretty obvious from the rest of the reports that this wasn't motivated by political affiliation as much as it was by flat out lunacy... And your accusations seem to be fueled by the same.

It's more than just obsessive to use a violent act of senseless murder to push partisan politics... It's also tacky... And when you don't fact check... Ignorant.

[Shwaz]

So you read that he was know as a liberal but lumped him in with the tea party? :/

[Shwaz]

I think this nutcase got lost in political ideals from both sides and theories about financial collapse and the end of the world. Honestly I see strong similarities in your posts.

I have absolutely no affiliation with the Tea Party. You've been to more rallies than I.

[Shwaz]

Nice "I'm rubber and you're glue" tactics.

[Shwaz]

Not sure what you're getting at here.

[Shwaz]

I can definitely see how this poster motivating conservatives to get out and vote could cause a man described by friends as a liberal to assassinate a local gongress woman and a crowd of innocent bystanders.

[Shwaz]

I will not be held accountable for spelling, grammar or punctuation after midnight.

[Shwaz]

Guess not.

[Shwaz]

Why should you be the end all be all of distorted facts and misquotes? In a few short posts you accused both the shooter and myself of being tea party members.... Not because of facts... Because of currency theories about world currency that coincide with blather from Glenn Beck. It seems To me that you follow Beck more intently than the assassin.