Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Critical Condition
of Arizona was shot outside
a grocery store in Tucson while holding a public event, Arizona Public Media reported Saturday. The Democrat, who was re-elected to her third term in November, was hosting a "Congress on Your Corner" event at the Safeway in northwest Tucson when a gunman ran up and started shooting, according to Peter Michaels, news director of Arizona Public Media.
At least five other people, including members of her staff, were hurt. Giffords was transported to University Medical Center in Tucson. Her condition was not immediately known. Giffords was talking to a couple when the suspect ran up firing indiscriminately and then ran off, Michaels said. According to other witnesses, he was tackled by a bystander and taken into custody.
CNN is reporting that at least 12 people have been wounded. Authorities said Giffords was shot in the head at close range by a 22-year-old man who approached her during a public appearance in Tucson. The alleged gunman, identified by the Associated Press as 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner, was apprehended. He has been described as an army reject with a troubled past .
TOWLEROAD posted , We're learning more about the alleged 22-year-old gunman, Jared Lee Loughner, who earlier today shot several people at a public event in Tuscon hosted by Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, severely injuring her and several others and taking the lives of at least two others.
A musician named Caitie Parker tweeted that she knew Loughner in high school and that he told her that he had met with Giffords in person in 2007. According to Parker, he was a "political radical" who thought the Congresswoman was "stupid & unintelligent." - Towleroad also has osme links to videos that Jared posted online.
TOWLEROAD also points out.... While we still don't know much about the motives of the alleged 22-year-old gunman involved in today's tragic shooting, Gabrielle Giffords' name was included on a target list put together by Sarah Palin. This list focused on ousting from office 20 members of Congress in Republican districts who voted for President Obama's health care reform bill calling for them to be replaced "with good conservatives. As you can see, sniper scope graphics blanket the "Take Back the 20" map.
Read about Palin's campaign on her Facebook page.
Giffords herself found the crosshairs disturbing. She was interviewed on MSNBC last year after her office was vandalised. Said the Congresswoman at the time, "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 gunsight over our district. When people do that, they've got to realize there's consequences to that action."
Giffords remains in Critical Condition.
SCARY!
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