Congressional aide, federal judge reportedly killed in shooting
outside Tucson store
BREAKING NEWS
msnbc.com news services
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head Saturday
when an assailant opened fire outside a grocery store during a
meeting with constituents, killing at least five people and
wounding several others in a rampage that rattled the nation.
Giffords was among at least 10 people injured, and the hospital
said her outlook was "optimistic" and that she was responding.
"She's in critical condition," Dr. Peter Rhee said. "The
neurosurgeons have finished operating on her and I can tell you
that in the current time period I am very optimistic about
recovery ... she was following commands."
The hospital said a 9-year-old child was among the killed, and a
federal judge was also fatally shot in the attack.
'Senseless and terrible'
Police say the shooter was in custody, and was identified by
people familiar with the investigation as Jared Loughner, 22. Pima
County Sheriff's officials said he used a pistol to carry out the
shooting spree. U.S. officials who provided his name to the AP
spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not
authorized to release it publicly.
The shooting prompted an outpouring of sympathy from
politicians and people around the country. President Barack
Obama called the shooting "an unspeakable tragedy" and that
such "a senseless and terrible act of violence has no place in a free
society." Obama sent his FBI director to oversee the investigation.
"It's not surprising that today Gabby was doing what she always
does, listening to the hopes and concerns of her neighbors,"
Obama said in a nationally televised news conference. "That is the
essence of what our democracy is about."
Federal law enforcement officials were poring over captured
versions of a MySpace page that belonged to Jared Loughner and
over Youtube video published to the Internet weeks ago under an
account "Classitup10" and linked to him. The MySpace page,
which was removed within minutes of the gunman being
identified by U.S. officials, included a mysterious "Goodbye
friends" message published hours before the shooting and
exhorted his friends to "Please don't be mad at me."
In one of several Youtube videos, which featured text against a
dark background, Loughner described inventing a new U.S.
currency and complained about the illiteracy rate among people
living in Giffords' congressional district in Arizona. Two spellings
of his last name were given in the aftermath of the shooting —
Loughner and Laughner.
"I know who's listening: Government Officials, and the People,"
Loughner wrote. "Nearly all the people, who don't know this
accurate information of a new currency, aren't aware of mind
control and brainwash methods. If I have my civil rights, then this
message wouldn't have happen (sic)."
Rampage
Three hours after the shooting, the L-shaped shopping center in
Tucson was blocked off by police and had fire trucks and other
vehicles in its parking lot that blocked the view of the store's front
door. No shell casing could be seen from the area 500 yards from
the store where reporters and photographers were kept.
Outside Giffords' office on Capitol Hill, a handful of congressional
staffers could be seen walking into her office without comment,
some with roller bags and one who was in tears. About a half
dozen yellow flowers, placed by one mourner, sat outside the
door.
U.S. Marshal for Arizona David Gonzales confirmed to the
Associated Press that U.S. District Judge John Roll also died in the
attack.
Giffords, 40, was re-elected to her third term last November. She
was a member of the Arizona House and Senate before coming to
Washington.
Giffords tweeted shortly before the shooting, describing her
"Congress on Your Corner" event: "My 1st Congress on Your
Corner starts now. Please stop by to let me know what is on your
mind or tweet me later."
Giffords is married to astronaut Mark E. Kelly, who has piloted
space shuttles Endeavour and Discovery. The two met in China in
2003 while they were serving on a committee there, and were
married in January 2007. He was expected to arrive at the hospital
Saturday evening, NBC News reported.
In a statement of condolence, Sen. Bill Nelson, chairman of the
Senate Commerce Space and Science Subcommittee, said her
husband is training to be the next commander of the space shuttle
mission slated for April. His brother is currently serving aboard
the International Space Station, he said.
Threats
Giffords was first elected to Congress amid a wave of Democratic
victories in the 2006 election, and she won a narrow victory
against a tea party favorite in the 2010 election.
She has been mentioned as a possible Democratic nominee in
2012 for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Jon Kyl, who has
not said whether he'll run again, or for the governor's office in
2014.
The shooting comes amid a highly charged political environment
that has seen several dangerous threats against lawmakers but
nothing that reached the point of actual violence.
A San Francisco man upset with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's
support of health care reform pleaded guilty to threatening the
Democratic congresswoman and her family, calling her directly
on March 25 and threatening to destroy her Northern California
home if she voted for health care reform.
In July, a California man known for his anger over left-leaning
politics engaged in a shootout with highway patrol officers after
planning an attack on the ACLU and another nonprofit group. The
man said he wanted to "start a revolution" by killing people at the
ACLU and the Tides Foundation.
Giffords herself has drawn the ire of the right, especially for her
support of the health care bill from politicians like Sarah Palin.
Her Tucson office was vandalized a few hours after the House
vote to approve the health care law in March, with someone either
kicking or shooting out a glass door and window. In an interview
after the vandalism, Giffords referred to the animosity against her
by conservatives. Palin listed Giffords' seat as one of the top
"targets" in the midterm elections because of the lawmakers'
support for the health care law.
"For example, we're on Sarah Palin's targeted list, but the thing is,
that the way that she has it depicted has the crosshairs of a gun
sight over our district. When people do that, they have to realize
that there are consequences to that action," Giffords said in an
interview with MSNBC.
In the hours after the shooting, Palin issued a statement in which
she expressed her "sincere condolences" to the family of Giffords
and the other victims.
Capitol police responded to the shooting by advising lawmakers
and their staff to "take reasonable and prudent precautions
regarding their personal security."
Despite her clashes with the right, Giffords describes herself as a
former Republican and current Blue Dog Democrat.
"You know, actually as a former Republican, you know, I consider
myself someone who is pretty in the middle, I'm a blue dog
Democrat, and one that is interested in making sure that our
country maintains our prosperity and frankly, our superiority over
other countries and that's where we look at these threat,
obviously our defense budget, our level of education," she said in
an interview with Fox News Channel this week.
Law makers urged to take precaution
Officers with the Capitol Police force advised members of the
House and their aides to "take reasonable and prudent
precautions" about their own security in the wake of the shooting.
In an e-mail obtained by The Associated Press, the Capitol Police
say they were directly involved in the investigation of the shooting
in Tucson.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40978517/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts
