TUCSON - Federal authorities
filed murder charges Sunday
against 22-year-old Jared
Loughner, as new evidence
suggested the alleged gunman
in Saturday's rampage had
fixated on Rep. Gabrielle
Giffords (D-Ariz.) while his
mental health deteriorated.
Loughner appeared to have
planned the shooting,
according to court documents.
In a safe at his parents' home,
investigators found an
envelope with the words "I
planned ahead" and "my
assassination" written on it,
along with the name
"Giffords.'' Loughner's
signature is also believed to
be on the envelope, the
complaint says.
More: Loughner's behavior
recorded by college classmate
e-mails
In the same safe, authorities
found a 2007 letter to
Loughner from Giffords, using
congressional stationery to
thank him for attending a
"Congress on Your Corner"
event in Tucson. Saturday's
shooting took place at another
such event, where Giffords
was meeting constituents
outside a supermarket.
Loughner allegedly shot
Giffords in the head during the
event - then fired his handgun
repeatedly into the crowd
around her. In all, 20 people
were struck by bullets. Six of
them died, including a federal
judge and a 9-year-old girl.
Giffords remains sedated and
in critical condition, doctors
said. After surgery on the
wound - in which a single
bullet traversed the left side
of her skull - they said
Giffords was able to follow
simple commands, like holding
up two fingers when asked.
"This is about as good as good
can get" with a bullet injury to
the brain, trauma physician
Peter Rhee said.
Loughner will be arraigned
Monday at a federal
courthouse in Phoenix. He has
been charged with two counts
of murder and three counts of
attempted murder.
Authorities said on Sunday
that he appeared to have
acted alone, without ties to
larger anti-government or
hate groups. A second "person
of interest" seen with
Loughner near the shooting
scene turned out to be the
cabdriver who had dropped
him off. Authorities said the
man had no connection to the
shootings.
The court documents also said
U.S. District Judge John M.
Roll, who died in the shooting,
was not targeted in advance.
Roll - who had received death
threats because of previous
rulings - was in the crowd
around Giffords. He had come
to the event, authorities said,
because he wanted to talk to
Giffords about the volume of
federal cases in Arizona.
New accounts also emerged
Sunday about the last few
years of Loughner's life,
showing that the slim, dark-
haired man had undergone a
frightening transformation
after high school.
In his years at Mountain View
High School, friends
remembered him as odd but
generally amiable. He wore
shorts some days, like many
of the other students, and
dark "Goth"-style clothes with
chains on others.
Source:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/09/AR2011010904478.html?hpid=topnews
filed murder charges Sunday
against 22-year-old Jared
Loughner, as new evidence
suggested the alleged gunman
in Saturday's rampage had
fixated on Rep. Gabrielle
Giffords (D-Ariz.) while his
mental health deteriorated.
Loughner appeared to have
planned the shooting,
according to court documents.
In a safe at his parents' home,
investigators found an
envelope with the words "I
planned ahead" and "my
assassination" written on it,
along with the name
"Giffords.'' Loughner's
signature is also believed to
be on the envelope, the
complaint says.
More: Loughner's behavior
recorded by college classmate
e-mails
In the same safe, authorities
found a 2007 letter to
Loughner from Giffords, using
congressional stationery to
thank him for attending a
"Congress on Your Corner"
event in Tucson. Saturday's
shooting took place at another
such event, where Giffords
was meeting constituents
outside a supermarket.
Loughner allegedly shot
Giffords in the head during the
event - then fired his handgun
repeatedly into the crowd
around her. In all, 20 people
were struck by bullets. Six of
them died, including a federal
judge and a 9-year-old girl.
Giffords remains sedated and
in critical condition, doctors
said. After surgery on the
wound - in which a single
bullet traversed the left side
of her skull - they said
Giffords was able to follow
simple commands, like holding
up two fingers when asked.
"This is about as good as good
can get" with a bullet injury to
the brain, trauma physician
Peter Rhee said.
Loughner will be arraigned
Monday at a federal
courthouse in Phoenix. He has
been charged with two counts
of murder and three counts of
attempted murder.
Authorities said on Sunday
that he appeared to have
acted alone, without ties to
larger anti-government or
hate groups. A second "person
of interest" seen with
Loughner near the shooting
scene turned out to be the
cabdriver who had dropped
him off. Authorities said the
man had no connection to the
shootings.
The court documents also said
U.S. District Judge John M.
Roll, who died in the shooting,
was not targeted in advance.
Roll - who had received death
threats because of previous
rulings - was in the crowd
around Giffords. He had come
to the event, authorities said,
because he wanted to talk to
Giffords about the volume of
federal cases in Arizona.
New accounts also emerged
Sunday about the last few
years of Loughner's life,
showing that the slim, dark-
haired man had undergone a
frightening transformation
after high school.
In his years at Mountain View
High School, friends
remembered him as odd but
generally amiable. He wore
shorts some days, like many
of the other students, and
dark "Goth"-style clothes with
chains on others.
Source:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/09/AR2011010904478.html?hpid=topnews
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