Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords Shot in Arizona

[chitown]

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords Shot in Arizona

U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head during a public event in Tucson this morning.

The Pima County Sheriff Paul Babeu told MSNBC Giffords is still alive but in very critical condition. A spokeswoman for the University Medical Center in Tuscon said in a CNN interview that the congresswoman was in surgery.

Giffords was holding an event outside a grocery store when a man ran up and started shooting, witnnesses said. The sheriff told MSNBC five people were killed and six were wounded, including some members of her staff. One witness says three bodies are covered with sheets outside the Safeway store.

Safeway grocery store in Tucson, Ariz. where Rep.Gabrielle Giffords was shot.
Emergency workers respond to an attack at a Safeway store in Tucson where Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and others were shot.

The sheriff said the gunman has been captured.

Giffords has represented Arizona's 8th Congressional district since 2007 and is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition of conservative Democrats. She narrowly defeated tea party-backed Republican Jesse Kelly to win a third House term in November.

Giffords' congressional office in Tucson was vandalized in March after she voted in favor of the health care reform bill. Sarah Palin included Giffords on a list of Democratic candidates targeted for defeat in the midterm elections because of their support for the health care overhaul.

"I am horrified by the senseless attack on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and members of her staff," Boehner said in a statement on the Speaker's website. "An attack on one who serves is an attack on all who serve."

"This is a sad day for our country," Boehner said.

"It is with the deepest sadness that we have received word of the attack on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, members of her staff, and her constituents. This terrible act of violence is a national tragedy, and today is a very sad day for our country," said House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi in a statement.

"We are just devastated. This community is devastated," Sylvia Lee, a friend of Giffords', said on CNN. "No matter what side of the political realm you're on, this is just a tragedy that is unspeakable."

"She was an incredibly dedicated community servant. She was always willing to talk to her constituents, she was very visible."

Democratic strategist Donna Brazile reacted to the shooting with this message on Twitter: "The increasing levels of incivility, intolerance and a political climate that favors those who threatens, bully others must end. I am so sad"

Giffords has served on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the House Committee on Armed Services, according to her election website.

Giffords previously served in the Arizona legislature and State Senate and was CEO of El Campo Tire, her family's tire and automotive business.

The election website describes Giffords as "a longtime gun owner and strong supporter of the Second Amendment."

Giffords, 40, married astronaut Mark E. Kelly in 2007. She was the first Jewish woman elected to Congress from Arizona.

[blue]

health care reform the reason ?
i'll put my money ,that it was muslim shooter because she was Jewish

[S Landreth]

more news,.........

Judge Roll in 2009, faced death threats after presiding over a $32 million civil-rights lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed by illegal immigrants against an Arizona rancher. After Judge Roll ruled the case would be certified, threats came from talk-radio shows which fueled controversy and spurred audiences into making threats against the judge.

The threats materialized after one show, Judge Roll’s name logged more than 200 phone calls as some callers threatened the judge and his family.

This resulted in the judge and his wife were under a protection detail for one month as Judge Roll was given twenty four hours a day, seven days a week security by the US Marshals Service. An US Attorney’s investigation ruled that four men were identified as threat makers, but no charges were filed.

I don’t think that Roll was necessarily the target in this incident, but the context seems worth noting.

…according to MSNBC, Rep. Giffords is “expected to pull through” after surgery.
…Giffords’ district director has died, per CNN.

…Giffords’ office was vandalized during the health care debate. She ended up voting for the bill.

…The press conference is beginning now at the hospital. They’ve received 10 patients, 1 of the ten died, 5 in critical condition, 5 in stable condition. (that’s 11)

The Congresswoman is not deceased, she is in critical condition. Doctor said “I am very optimistic about recovery.” She was shot in the head.

…”I’m about as optimistic as I can get in this situation,” said the doctor. Giffords is out of surgery and under anaesthesia. Would have much more information in the next 24 hours. The dead patient was a 9 year-old child.

…Mayor of Tuscon and Chief of Police now speaking at the press event. Police Chief says that the investigation is ongoing with the Pima County Sheriff Department.

..That’s it for the press conference. The suspect has been identified as Jared Laughner, born 1988.

…The President will come out and speak in about 10 minutes.

…This is apparently a (that’s the spelling). It’s quite strange.

…several videos from Jared Loughner here.

…President’s address will come up here.

…A picture of the shooter.

…The President is up. “We are still assembling all the facts.” Rep. Giffords “is battling for her life.” At least 5 lost their lives in this tragedy, including John Roll and a young girl who was barely 9 years old. Suspect currently in custody, but we don’t yet know what provoked this unspeakable act. Spoke to Democratic and Republican leaders. Says Gaby Giffords “was a friend of mine,” then changed tense for the rest of the sentence. Not surprising that Gaby was today doing what she always does. This is more than a tragedy for those involved, a tragedy for our country. I ask all Americans to come together and keep all the victims in our thoughts and prayers. I know Gaby is as tough as they come. Hopeful she is going to pull through. We are going to get to the bottom of this

rest of the story: http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/01/08/awaiting-press-conference-at-tuscon-hospital-on-giffords-shooting/

[S Landreth]

…A picture of the shooter.

the male in the photo

picture from his myspace page before it was taken down

[S Landreth]

[Humbert]

What makes a person feel justified in backing up their political beliefs by shooting innocent people? It's really not surprising with people like Limbaugh, Beck, Palin and Bachmann strirring up hateful emotions with their rhetoric.

[S Landreth]

It's really not surprising with people like Limbaugh, Beck, Palin and Bachmann strirring up hateful emotions with their rhetoric.

and her opponents,………….

Per Puppethead in the comments, Giffords’ 2010 Congressional opponent Jesse Kelly held a June 12 gun event that was billed as follows on the Pima County Republican website:

Get on Target for Victory in November Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office Shot a fully automatic M15 with Jesse Kelly.

Link: Giffords Opponent, Jesse Kelly, Held June Event to “Shoot a Fully Automatic M16″ to “Get on Target” and “Remove Gabrielle Giffords” | Firedoglake

[Kurgen]

U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head during a public event in Tucson this morning.

Being American and a woman the bullet must have missed all her vital organs. Put a band-aid on the entry and exit wounds, job done, good as new.

[larvidchr]

Hmmm being a flag burning fan and anti God type he is hardly a conservative? with favorite books like the communist manifesto and mein kampf, and his videos against government control that would make him more like an anarchist "wikileaks" left wing fascist type nutter would it not ? you know one of the intelligent ones

I don't know off-cause, but Maybe it is just a bit early to blame Limbaugh and Beck ect. for this phsyco ?

[the dogcatcher]

I never shop at Safeways.
Too dangerous.

[Butterfly]

probably some right wing redneck,

this is what happens when the mass starts to listen to fascist rethoric, they become little soldiers

[Humbert]

Hmmm being a flag burning fan and anti God type he is hardly a conservative? with favorite books like the communist manifesto and mein kampf, and his videos against government control that would make him more like an anarchist "wikileaks" left wing fascist type nutter would it not ? you know one of the intelligent ones

I don't know off-cause, but Maybe it is just a bit early to blame Limbaugh and Beck ect. for this phsyco ?

When I watch these guys, particularly Beck, you are left with the impression that government is conspiring to rob people of their liberties, property, guns and religion. The message appeals to those who wish to take individual action against a government that they convinced is evil. This guy appears to be a psycho and it is difficult to figure out his politics from his rhetoric.

[socal]

What makes a person feel justified in backing up their political beliefs by shooting innocent people? It's really not surprising with people like Limbaugh, Beck, Palin and Bachmann strirring up hateful emotions with their rhetoric.

You are such an empty guilt edge socialist.

[socal]

U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head during a public event in Tucson this morning.

Being American and a woman the bullet must have missed all her vital organs. Put a band-aid on the entry and exit wounds, job done, good as new.

[raycarey]

Last year, Sarah Palin's PAC posted a map with gun cross-hairs over the districts of several Democrats who voted for health care reform, including Giffords. Sarah PAC appears to have taken the page down today

[Butterfly]

Hmmm being a flag burning fan and anti God type he is hardly a conservative? with favorite books like the communist manifesto and mein kampf, and his videos against government control that would make him more like an anarchist "wikileaks" left wing fascist type nutter would it not ? you know one of the intelligent ones

I don't know off-cause, but Maybe it is just a bit early to blame Limbaugh and Beck ect. for this phsyco ?

When I watch these guys, particularly Beck, you are left with the impression that government is conspiring to rob people of their liberties, property, guns and religion. The message appeals to those who wish to take individual action against a government that they convinced is evil. This guy appears to be a psycho and it is difficult to figure out his politics from his rhetoric.

agree, surprised that no laws are being invoked to shut him down, it's borderline hate speech like you have in those muslims extremists mosque

[raycarey]

Ms. Giffords was also among a group of embattled Democratic House candidates who were featured on the Web site of Sarah Palin’s political action committee with cross hairs over their districts, a fact that disturbed Ms. Giffords at the time.

“We’re on Sarah Palin’s targeted list,” Ms. Giffords said last March. “But the thing is the way that she has it depicted has the cross hairs of a gun sight over our district. When people do that, they’ve got to realize there’s consequences to that.”

The image with the gun sights is no longer on the Web site of Ms. Palin

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/us...apital.html?hp

[Mid]

yep , lotta people seem to be on the backpeddle with Palin leading the retreat .

[harrybarracuda]

Stoopid Mericans make it so piss easy for psychos to get guns, why should we even be surprised at yet another episode of firearm based spree killing?

Tossers.

This morning they are saying she is likely to fully recover, so the shooter must have been a complete c*nt as well as a nutter.

[StrontiumDog]

Man linked to Giffords shooting rampage called 'very disturbed'

Man linked to Giffords shooting rampage called 'very disturbed'

By Tim Steller, Arizona Daily Star
Arizona Daily Star |
Posted: Saturday, January 8, 2011 3:11 pm


Mamta Popat/Arizona Daily Star
Jared Loughner is the man identified by the Associated Press as the suspect in the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and slayings of U.S. District Judge John Roll and 5 others this morning in Tucson. Law enforcement is at house on Soledad Avenue that matches the address of the Jared Loughner who registered as a volunteer at the 2010 Tucson Festival of Books, where this photo was taken.

The man linked to the shooting today of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and others is 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner, the Associated Press reported.

Saturday afternoon, police surrounded a house at 7700 N. Soledad Ave., which is the address listed by a man with the same name on a variety of online accounts and in the volunteer registry for the 2010 Tucson Festival of Books. The home is near West Magee Road and North Thornydale Road on the northwest side, about five miles from the shooting scene.

Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik would not confirm Loughner is the suspected shooter. He said the person arrested for the shooting is uninjured and uncooperative.

The suspected shooter has made death threats before and been contacted by law-enforcement officers, but the threats weren't against Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Dupnik said. The suspect is unstable, Dupnik said, but the sheriff would not say he is "insane."

A former classmate of Loughner at Pima Community College said he was "obviously very disturbed."

"He disrupted class frequently with nonsensical outbursts," said Lynda Sorenson, who took a math class with Loughner last summer at Pima Community College's Northwest campus.

Sorenson doesn't recall if he ever made any threats or uttered political statements but he was very disruptive, she said. He was asked to leave the pre-algebra class several times and eventually was barred from class, said Sorenson, a Tucson resident.

Another Pima classmate, Lydian Ali, said Loughner would frequently laugh aloud to himself during the advanced-poetry class they attended. Only about 16 people were in the class, so Loughner's behavior stood out, Ali said.

"It almost seemed like he was on his own planet, because his comments would have nothing to do with what we were talking about," Ali said.

MySpace, YouTube and Facebook accounts maintained by Loughner suggest he has spent most of his life on the northwest side: His profile says he attended Thornydale Elementary, Tortolita Middle School, Mountain View High School

The online accounts also contain bizarre discussions of a new currency and literacy, as well as threatening and despairing messages.

"WOW! I'm glad i didn't kill myself. I'll see you on National T.v.! This is foreshadow .... why doesn't anyone talk to me?.." he posted on MySpace Dec. 14.

On Dec. 13, he wrote: "I don't feel good: I'm ready to kill a police officer! I can say it."

In a posting on YouTube, Loughner wrote repeatedly about a new currency.

"I'm thinking of creating a new currency," he wrote. "Therefore, I'm thinking of a design for my new coins size, shape, color, material, and image to start a new money system."

He also wrote repeatedly about literacy. In a written message on YouTube, Loughner said: "The majority of people, who reside in District-8 are illiterate - hilarious. I don't control your English grammar structure, but you control your English grammar structure."

In a message posted on his MySpace account, titled "Goodbye friends," Loughner said: "Dear friends...please don't be mad at me. The literacy rate is below 5%. I haven't talked to one person who is literate." It was unclear when it was posted.

In a MySpace profile, Loughner said "My favorite interest was reading, and I studied grammar. Conscience dreams were a great study in college."

He lists among his favorite books "Mein Kampf" and "The Communist Manifesto". But he also includes a broad variety of other titles, including: "Animal Farm," "Brave New World," "To Kill a Mockingbird," and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest".

In another YouTube message, Loughner said: "I know who's listening: Government Officials, and the People. 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."

"In conclusion, my ambition - is for informing literate dreamers about a new currency; in a few days, you know I'm conscience dreaming! Thank you!"

In a YouTube video dated Dec. 15, titled "Introduction: Jared Loughner" the accused gunman describes himself as a U.S. military recruit who had applied to join the Army. The Army, however, said it rejected Lougher as a recruit in 2008.

In the video, Loughner makes a rambling mention of "MEPS in Phoenix" a reference to the Military Entrance Processing Station in the state capital that all Arizona recruits from every branch of service pass through before leaving for basic training.

"Every United States military recruit at MEPS in Phoenix is receiving one mini bible before the tests," it said. "Jared Loughner is a United States military recruit at MEPS in Phoenix. Therefore, Jared Loughner is receiving one mini bible before the tests.

"I didn't write a belief on my Army application and the recruiter wrote on the application: None."

First Sgt. Brian Homme, who oversees Army recruiting in Tucson, said Loughner applied to enlist in December 2008 and was sent to Phoenix to take a test and physical. But "he was found to be unqualified so he never joined the Army," Homme said.

He declined to say why Loughner was rejected, citing confidentiality laws.

Loughner has had at least two minor run-ins with police, according to on-line court records.

In October 2007, Loughner was cited by the Pima County Sheriff's Department for possession of drug paraphernalia, a charge that was dismissed in November 2007 when he completed a diversion program.

One year later, in October 2008, Loughner was charged with a "local charge" in Marana Municipal Court, that charge was also dismissed following the completion of a diversion program in March 2009.

Court records indicate the Marana case file is due to be purged in December 2013. It's unclear what the exact charge was.

Grant Wiens, 22, attended Mountain View High School with Loughner, although they were not in the same grade.

Wiens also took a class at Pima Community College with Loughner, where they occasionally talked, he said.

"He was a guy in high school who definitely had his opinions on stuff and didn't seem to care what people thought of him," Wiens said. "He did his own thing."

Ryan Miller, 19, was a sophomore at Mountain View when Loughner was a senior.

He said Loughner was seemed like a normal kid.

"I was in shock," he said, describing his reaction to the shooting. "I didn't know what possessed someone our age to do something like this."

Stay tuned to StarNet for updates

[StrontiumDog]

I love headlines like this...

Man linked to Giffords shooting rampage called 'very disturbed'

He shot a load of people....yeah, I'd say he is "very disturbed". What's the next startling revelation going to be? Man has 2 arms? Man hungry, eats food?

[raycarey]

[Norton]

Arizona Shooting: Sheriff Says On-Air Vitriol 'Has Consequences'

Sheriff suggests radio, TV vitriol could have been factor in Arizona killing spree Saturday

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/8/2011 926 PM



In an emotional press conference carried by major news organizations Saturday, Pima County, Ariz., sheriff Clarence Dupnik suggested to a national audience that radio and TV vitriol could have been a factor in the killing spree in Arizona Saturday that left a congresswoman gravely injured, a federal judge and five others dead, and more than a dozen more wounded.

He spoke of "all the vitriol we hear inflaming the American public by people who make a living off of doing that. That may be free speech," Dupnik said, but that vitriol and political rhetoric "is not without consequence."

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) had her office windows broken after her vote in March in favor of healthcare reform. At press time doctors were optimistic she would survive, despite being shot in the head at close range.

Dupnik, who identified himself as a friend of the murdered judge as well as Giffords', said unbalanced people respond to such vitriol, and that Arizona had become a mecca for prejudice and bigotry.

When asked by a reporter how they know that was a cause, he conceded: "You don't."

According to authorities, a total of 19 people were shot by a 22-year-old gunman who authorities also said was targeting Giffords at a Saturday meet-and-greet outside a Tucson Safeway. A second suspect was also being sought who may have been involved in the shootings, Dupnik said.

Congress canceled all votes for next week in the wake of the shooting, according to CNN. "I am horrified by the senseless attack on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and members of her staff," said House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). "An attack on one who serves is an attack on all who serve. "

"I want to assure the people of Arizona and every American that we will hold accountable anyone responsible for these heinous acts," said Attorney General Eric Holder in a statement late Saturday.

As part of its coverage, Fox aired some tape of an interview with Giffords it had conducted only the day before.

Arizona Shooting: Sheriff Says On-Air Vitriol 'HasConsequences' - 2011-01-09 0226 | Broadcasting & Cable

[Butterfly]

he seems bi-polar or delusional, why isn't he under meds ?

might have been influenced by Sara Palin speeches and hate rethoric, which would make her accessory to murder

[socal]

he seems bi-polar or delusional, why isn't he under meds ?

might have been influenced by Sara Palin speeches and hate rethoric, which would make her accessory to murder

As if conservatism is a new thing. Is that all the low life socialists of TD can come up with ?