Breaking: Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords Shot in AZ

The story broke via NPR, but I’m quoting Jay Bookman’s blog at the AJC because the NPR link hasn’t been updated to report her death yet:

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, an Arizona Democrat beginning her third term, has reportedly been shot in the head at a public appearance in a Tucson supermarket.

NPR, citing the local sheriff’s office, reports that GIffords and six others have died.

The gunman is in custody. There is no information available regarding his identity or motive. Other victims reportedly include congressional staff members.

For more information on the shooting and on Giffords, here is the NPR link.

Update: Giffords’ spokesperson says Giffords is alive and in surgery. Via Wapo blogger Felicia Sonmez.


65 Comments on “Breaking: Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords Shot in AZ”

  1. minkoffminx's avatar Minkoff Minx says:

    This is horrible.

  2. Delphyne's avatar Delphyne says:

    CNN is reporting conflicting statements of Cong. Giffords death – the hospital is supposed to have a news conference shortly.

    This is just so horrible.

  3. soupcity's avatar soupcity says:

    This is unbelievable, hope they can save her. I am sick to my stomach.

  4. HT's avatar HT says:

    Takes me back to too many other assassination attempts (JFK, RFK) and the hospital reports. I find this so repugnant that I feel ill. For what purpose, why? I think the lady died on scene, but I’m hoping that I’m wrong for once. What about all the other folks who were shot – are they all deceased? Geebus, this is so sick.

    • soupcity's avatar soupcity says:

      Saying at least 4 dead and I heard one was a child and one was a staffer, not sure because of all the conflicing info. Horrific.

  5. Riverbird's avatar Riverbird says:

    I’m sick about this.

  6. soupcity's avatar soupcity says:

    Hospital spox on cnn now saying she’s in surgery, supposed to have press conf soon

  7. dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:

    Jane at FDL has a good article up on the kind of violence incited by her rival in the last election:

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

    You may recall she was one of the congressional people who was put on a map by Palin with a rifle site graphic. You can see that graphic there also.

    • bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:

      Oh great. Will her fans defend that too?

    • kk's avatar kk says:

      did you see the article at hillbuz.. about a piece on huffpost.. crazy deomcrat supporter says “she’s dead to me” after she voted against pelosi… huff post nas edited tje original but hillbuz has the screen shot…. I’m more inclined to think a crazy obot did it… seeing as we are all seemi g to make wild guesses here.

      • dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:

        no, it’s a tea party person he has a my space page and a you tube channel.

      • bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:

        According to what I’m hearing on Fox News right now, the guy who did it is one of the anti-Fed, goldbug types. IOW, a right winger. He shot a little 9-year-old girl, who is now dead.

      • dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:

        I watched his you tubes. It was an odd rant against the Treasury issuing some new currency. Also, a there’s a diatribe on bad English grammar using incredibly bad English grammar. Also, some rant about anti-Federalist laws. The Feds took his myspace down but there’s also some pictures of him floating around. His favorite youtube has a picture of a US flag in the desert with the background music “let the bodies hit the floor” which is done by heavy metal artists Drowning Pool

  8. Delphyne's avatar Delphyne says:

    The Gray Lady reports:

  9. dwp's avatar dwp says:

    Reutrers, NPR, et al retracting their reports that Giffords has died. Hospital spokesperson reporting that she is in critical condition and undergoing surgery.

  10. Branjor's avatar Branjor says:

    This is so sickening….I hope she makes it.

  11. dwp's avatar dwp says:

    Looks like damage control is being done everywhere, just in case. Pages showing/mentioning crosshairs are being taken down by Palin, Kelly and others. Just 20 min ago this still existed:

    http://www.votejessekelly.com/news/2010/09/05/kelly-……places-crosshairs-squarely-rep-giffords

    Now the link just takes you to the generic “we lost” page. Again, I really hope it wasn’t politically motivated… :-/

    h/t Jason Kelley

  12. dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:

    RT @joshtpm: BREAKING: Fed Judge among those shot in AZ http://tpm.ly/eQjDxw

  13. Boo Radly's avatar Boo Radly says:

    Heartbreaking.

    The shooter is in custody. There are so many victims. I can’t but think the hateful
    rhetoric promoted by the last several campaigns contribute toward physical violence.
    Neither party has clean hands.

    So senseless – tragic.

  14. dwp's avatar dwp says:

    Suspect is 21 years old.

  15. dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:

    Latest from CNN: Six people killed, 12 others injured, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, in shooting at Tucson store, officials say.

  16. Branjor's avatar Branjor says:

    Condition of Gabrielle Giffords is “optimistic.” A young child is dead.

  17. Boo Radly's avatar Boo Radly says:

    Link was updated at 3:57 pm.

    http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/01/rep-gabrielle-giffords-at-12-shot-tucson-grocery-store/

    So many people shot by one person – the link states 18 people were shot.

  18. dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:

    Yup. As we feared. TEA PARTY extremist.

    JoeMyGod JoeMyGod
    The shooter has a YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/Classitup10 #TeaParty #Giffords #TCOT

  19. dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:

    Spoken like the father of a daughter:

    peterdaou Peter Daou
    A person who takes the life of a child, a nine-year old girl, should roast in hell for eternity. No words to describe the monstrosity.

  20. bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:

    Congresswoman Giffords is responding to commands even though the bullet went right through her head. She was shot point blank. Doctors are optimistic for her recovery.

    Shooter’s favorite books: The Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf. WTF?!

    From what I’m hearing them read on Fox from his writing, he sounds psychotic. He’s the right age to get Schizophrenia, but he was apparently in the military, so he could have PTSD.

    • dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:

      The right wing blogs are trying to make him into a leftie …

      How many lefties do you know that obsess on people knowing english grammar, currency from the Treasury instead of gold, and consider Mein Kampf one of their favorites?

      Also, the site scrubbing is going on like crazy. They’re bringing down all those Palin’s graphics of the rifle sites and they’re taking down stuff from Gifford’s last tea party challenger.

      They’re trying to make him into a left wing commie.

      VERY SAD. Mostly it sounds like a psychotic break.

  21. janicen's avatar janicen says:

    This is heartbreaking and sickening at the same time.

  22. dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:

    joshgerstein Josh Gerstein
    by politico
    Obama confirms death of U.S. District Court Jugde John Roll in Tucson shooting, says he “served America’s legal system for almost 40 years”

  23. dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:

    Here’s an article on threats of violence against Congresswoman Giffords. Standing up against the right wing is a dangerous job. I can personally attest to that.

    The AP has reported that the gunman has been identified as Jared Laughner. There’s still uncertainty about Laughner’s motives and politics. But a Youtube video posted under the name Jared Lee Loughner of Tucson proposes creating a “new currency,” and rails against non-English speakers “in District 8” — Giffords’s congressional district.

    But it’s worth noting that Giffords — who in 2006 became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, at 36 — has, for more than a year, been the target of violence-tinged rhetoric from political opponents and of threats that appear to have come from right-wing activists.

    Asked by the New York Post whether his daughter had any enemies, Giffords’s father replied: “The whole tea party.”

    In August 2009, an attendee at a Giffords town-hall meeting dropped a handgun, leading Giffords’s staff to call the police. “We have never felt the need before to notify law enforcement when we hold these events,” her spokesman said at the time.

    After Giffords voted in favor of the health-care overhaul in March, she said that vandals had broken the glass door of her Tucson office. “The rhetoric is incredibly heated, not just the calls but the emails, the slurs,” she told MSNBC at the time. “Things have really gotten spun up.”

    She added: “We do have these polarized parts of our parties that really get excited, and that’s where … all of us have to come together and say, ‘OK, there’s a fine line here.’ ”

  24. bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:

    Congresswoman Giffords on MSNBC in March, talking about calls, e-mails, death threats, and a break-in at her office.

  25. Fannie's avatar Fannie says:

    This confirms the maddess that we have been talking about this week. It’s coming from all corners, and our system is not up to task of promoting mental health services to people.

    I reviewed the Palin map, how in the hell did she get away with this kind of targeting and hurt? I hope she suffers the consquences for idenifying states that she threaten.

    It’s truly gruesome.

    • RalphB's avatar RalphB says:

      You apparently forget the Democrat’s map in 2006 with their “targeted” districts. There is a lot to be exercised about but a political expression is hardly one of them.

      We would all be better served by toning down our rhetoric and focusing on what should be done to keep these mass shootings from happening. There seems to be an outbreak of them lately and, so long as societal pressure keeps going up, there will be even more.

      • Fannie's avatar Fannie says:

        Ralph, I did not know about the Dem’s map in 2006. Like I said it’s coming from every corner. I wasn’t aware of Palin’s map, until today.

        My condolences to the families, and a speedy recovery to all us injured.

      • dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:

        Did that map use rifle sites for pointers?

      • Fannie's avatar Fannie says:

        I feel a need to clarify my statement. It is because she made the choice to use such image (target/map), and that she should be called out, and we should take a stand against
        this kind imaging. And it’s not just about her, but the many, many others who have created images of hate.

        She of all people should know better, lest she forget the image of herself being lynched in a red dress. The same was done to Hillary during her campaign.

        We called this out, we stood together, and nothing was done,
        nothing from the media, nothing from the politicians, and nothing from the citizens.

      • Fannie's avatar Fannie says:

        I did take the time to see the dems map in 2006, in which they used bulleyes to place targets throughout the county on repubicans districts. I’d put the map up, but do not know how to download it.

    • Branjor's avatar Branjor says:

      I was discussing with a friend of mine last night that the new thing in the mental health world is that one gets only 3-4 sessions with a therapist, maybe 6 if one is lucky. That’s not enough to effectively treat anybody with a mental health problem. I guess that in Loughner’s case he could have used medication.

  26. dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:

    File under isn’t this ironic?

    Dahlialithwick Dahlia Lithwick
    looks like in 1994 Judge Roll found that background check provisions of Brady Law were unconstititonal http://bit.ly/gqCBlx

  27. paper doll's avatar paper doll says:

    Just heartbreaking…the immediate, almost instantaneous right wing mop is remarkable.
    their actions means they connected the dots and they don’t want the public to do so as well.