US congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords shot point blank at public meeting (805)
It's very sad. She's a good woman. 
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DUBLINGUY1973: A US CONGRESSWOMAN has been shot point blank in the head, and five people have reportedly been killed, after a man opened fire at a public meeting in Tuscon, Arizona.
Gabrielle Giffords, 40-year-old Democratic member of the House of Representatives remains in a critical condition in hospital after being was shot at approximately 10am local time as she spoke outside a grocery shop for a constituency event. The attacker has been identified as white male in his late teens or early 20s.
Reuters reports that a total of 18 people were shot in the attack and six people have died, according to Rick Kastigar - an official from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.
University Medical Center spokeswoman Darci Slaten told Reuters that a nine-year-old girl was among the dead. Federal judge John Roll and an aide to the Congresswoman have also been confirmed dead.
Giffords, a vocal supporter of Obama’s Health Care Reform Bill, had been identified in a “target map” published by former Alaska governor Sarah Palin last year. A total of 20 House Democrats were identified on Palin’s target map, entitled “Its time to take a stand”.
The map and violent rhetoric by Palin’s Political Action Committee was criticised at the time as an “incitement to violence”, particularly after Palin tweeted the map to her followers with the words: “Don’t retreat, instead- RELOAD!”. US website Gawker reports that days after map was introduced, vandals smashed the windows of Giffords Tuscon office.
Gifford’s opponent in the 2010 election was Jesse Kelly, who held an campaign event entitled “Get on Target for Victory in November” – Description: “Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office. Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly.”
A motivation for the attack has not yet been identified.
President Obama has called the attack “an unspeakable tragedy”.
Thanks Sarah you fricken airhead!Gabrielle Giffords, 40-year-old Democratic member of the House of Representatives remains in a critical condition in hospital after being was shot at approximately 10am local time as she spoke outside a grocery shop for a constituency event. The attacker has been identified as white male in his late teens or early 20s.
Reuters reports that a total of 18 people were shot in the attack and six people have died, according to Rick Kastigar - an official from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.
University Medical Center spokeswoman Darci Slaten told Reuters that a nine-year-old girl was among the dead. Federal judge John Roll and an aide to the Congresswoman have also been confirmed dead.
Giffords, a vocal supporter of Obama’s Health Care Reform Bill, had been identified in a “target map” published by former Alaska governor Sarah Palin last year. A total of 20 House Democrats were identified on Palin’s target map, entitled “Its time to take a stand”.
The map and violent rhetoric by Palin’s Political Action Committee was criticised at the time as an “incitement to violence”, particularly after Palin tweeted the map to her followers with the words: “Don’t retreat, instead- RELOAD!”. US website Gawker reports that days after map was introduced, vandals smashed the windows of Giffords Tuscon office.
Gifford’s opponent in the 2010 election was Jesse Kelly, who held an campaign event entitled “Get on Target for Victory in November” – Description: “Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office. Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly.”
A motivation for the attack has not yet been identified.
President Obama has called the attack “an unspeakable tragedy”.
And some people think she should be president?
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ooby_dooby: Thanks Sarah you fricken airhead!
And some people think she should be president?
And some people think she should be president?
They do?
I hope she is hauled over the coals after this. Its bad enough the congresswoman getting shot but 18 others also including a nine year old girl?
Palin and Kelly should be ashamed of themselves.......JMO.
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ooby_dooby: Thanks Sarah you fricken airhead!
And some people think she should be president?
And some people think she should be president?
So that's the path you want to go down.
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DUBLINGUY1973: They do?
I hope she is hauled over the coals after this. Its bad enough the congresswoman getting shot but 18 others also including a nine year old girl?
Palin and Kelly should be ashamed of themselves.......JMO.
I hope she is hauled over the coals after this. Its bad enough the congresswoman getting shot but 18 others also including a nine year old girl?
Palin and Kelly should be ashamed of themselves.......JMO.
You know what, why don't you wait until you have the facts before you rush to judgement. Are you kidding with this statement???? Really Dublin and you too Scooby Do.
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DUBLINGUY1973: A US CONGRESSWOMAN has been shot point blank in the head, and five people have reportedly been killed, after a man opened fire at a public meeting in Tuscon, Arizona.
Gabrielle Giffords, 40-year-old Democratic member of the House of Representatives remains in a critical condition in hospital after being was shot at approximately 10am local time as she spoke outside a grocery shop for a constituency event. The attacker has been identified as white male in his late teens or early 20s.
Reuters reports that a total of 18 people were shot in the attack and six people have died, according to Rick Kastigar - an official from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.
University Medical Center spokeswoman Darci Slaten told Reuters that a nine-year-old girl was among the dead. Federal judge John Roll and an aide to the Congresswoman have also been confirmed dead.
Giffords, a vocal supporter of Obama’s Health Care Reform Bill, had been identified in a “target map” published by former Alaska governor Sarah Palin last year. A total of 20 House Democrats were identified on Palin’s target map, entitled “Its time to take a stand”.
The map and violent rhetoric by Palin’s Political Action Committee was criticised at the time as an “incitement to violence”, particularly after Palin tweeted the map to her followers with the words: “Don’t retreat, instead- RELOAD!”. US website Gawker reports that days after map was introduced, vandals smashed the windows of Giffords Tuscon office.
Gifford’s opponent in the 2010 election was Jesse Kelly, who held an campaign event entitled “Get on Target for Victory in November” – Description: “Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office. Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly.”
A motivation for the attack has not yet been identified.
President Obama has called the attack “an unspeakable tragedy”.
Gabrielle Giffords, 40-year-old Democratic member of the House of Representatives remains in a critical condition in hospital after being was shot at approximately 10am local time as she spoke outside a grocery shop for a constituency event. The attacker has been identified as white male in his late teens or early 20s.
Reuters reports that a total of 18 people were shot in the attack and six people have died, according to Rick Kastigar - an official from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.
University Medical Center spokeswoman Darci Slaten told Reuters that a nine-year-old girl was among the dead. Federal judge John Roll and an aide to the Congresswoman have also been confirmed dead.
Giffords, a vocal supporter of Obama’s Health Care Reform Bill, had been identified in a “target map” published by former Alaska governor Sarah Palin last year. A total of 20 House Democrats were identified on Palin’s target map, entitled “Its time to take a stand”.
The map and violent rhetoric by Palin’s Political Action Committee was criticised at the time as an “incitement to violence”, particularly after Palin tweeted the map to her followers with the words: “Don’t retreat, instead- RELOAD!”. US website Gawker reports that days after map was introduced, vandals smashed the windows of Giffords Tuscon office.
Gifford’s opponent in the 2010 election was Jesse Kelly, who held an campaign event entitled “Get on Target for Victory in November” – Description: “Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office. Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly.”
A motivation for the attack has not yet been identified.
President Obama has called the attack “an unspeakable tragedy”.
now I probably will get my butt chewed for this but...if the attack would have been comitted by a Muslim..would it have still been a tragedy...or would it have been plastered all over as an terrorist attack..??? just a reminder that christans have just as many bad apples as the rest ..
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Regardless of political affilation, it's very sad. There are things in life that supercede politics and political slants.
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leigh2154: You know what, why don't you wait until you have the facts before you rush to judgement. Are you kidding with this statement???? Really Dublin and you too Scooby Do.
So what am i missing?
I just think the map and Kelly's comments were hardly helpful but what do i know?
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leigh2154: She, Gabby, so young and vital and the others, a child for Gods sake. This thread should remain respectful to those who lost their lives today and to those now fighting to stay alive.
I couldn't agree more
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DUBLINGUY1973: So what am i missing?
I just think the map and Kelly's comments were hardly helpful but what do i know?
I reckon we are doing the usual here jumping to all sorts of theories before all the facts are completely clear.We should wait until ALL the information has actually been sorted then Blame if any an be properly apportioned ....As always JMOI just think the map and Kelly's comments were hardly helpful but what do i know?
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Yes, I have just heard about it on the news. I hear she is alive and recovering? 
Hi, Dublinguy.... so nice to see you after so long!
Hi, Dublinguy.... so nice to see you after so long!
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patmac: I reckon we are doing the usual here jumping to all sorts of theories before all the facts are completely clear.We should wait until ALL the information has actually been sorted then Blame if any an be properly apportioned ....As always JMO
You're right. My apologies.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of the injured and the dead
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DUBLINGUY1973: You're right. My apologies.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of the injured and the dead
My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of the injured and the dead
Respectfully, I think an article from a more objective news source could have been more helpful...at least until facts are pulled together.
JMO
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just horrible...
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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.
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, Nelson said.
Giffords, known as "Gabby" in Arizona, 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."
"It's not surprising that today Gabby was doing what she always does, listening to the hopes and concerns of her neighbors," Obama said. "That is the essence of what our democracy is about."
Giffords has drawn the ire of the right in the last year, especially from politicians like Sarah Palin over her support of the health care bill.
Her Tucson office was vandalized a few hours after the House voted 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.
Law enforcement officials and reporters from around the country descended on Tucson, the second biggest city in the state and home to the University of Arizona. The scene has been converted into a command post with about a dozen or so emergency vehicles and agents in FBI jackets milling about the location.
The shooting occurred at a shopping center called La Toscana Village that is home to a Beyond Bread bakery, a Jenny Craig, a cleaners, a nail salon and the Safeway grocery store near the scene of the crime.
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.
In Loughner's middle-class neighborhood — about a five-minute drive from the scene — sheriff's deputies had much of the street blocked off as curious neighbors asked what was going on. The neighborhood sits just off a bustling Tucson street and is lined with desert landscaping and palm trees.
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, Nelson said.
Giffords, known as "Gabby" in Arizona, 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."
"It's not surprising that today Gabby was doing what she always does, listening to the hopes and concerns of her neighbors," Obama said. "That is the essence of what our democracy is about."
Giffords has drawn the ire of the right in the last year, especially from politicians like Sarah Palin over her support of the health care bill.
Her Tucson office was vandalized a few hours after the House voted 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.
Law enforcement officials and reporters from around the country descended on Tucson, the second biggest city in the state and home to the University of Arizona. The scene has been converted into a command post with about a dozen or so emergency vehicles and agents in FBI jackets milling about the location.
The shooting occurred at a shopping center called La Toscana Village that is home to a Beyond Bread bakery, a Jenny Craig, a cleaners, a nail salon and the Safeway grocery store near the scene of the crime.
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.
In Loughner's middle-class neighborhood — about a five-minute drive from the scene — sheriff's deputies had much of the street blocked off as curious neighbors asked what was going on. The neighborhood sits just off a bustling Tucson street and is lined with desert landscaping and palm trees.
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So why did he do it?
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Neighbors said Loughner kept to himself but that they often saw him walking his dog, almost always wearing a hooded sweat shirt listening to his iPod. Neighbors said Loughner lived with his parents.
"We're getting out of here. We are freaked out," 33-year-old David Cleveland, who lives a few doors down from Loughner's house, told The Associated Press.
Cleveland said he was taking his wife and children, ages 5 and 7, to her parent's home when they heard about the shooting.
"When we heard about it we just got sick to our stomachs," Cleveland said. "We just wanted to hold our kids tight."
Caroline LaPer, who lives only a few blocks from the crime scene and was walking her golden retriever past the store Saturday afternoon, was looking out her window earlier in the day when she saw helicopters circling above. Then her husband called from a home show in downtown Tucson to say "There's been a shooting at Safeway. Don't go anywhere."
"It's just devastating. It's numbing. It's disheartening," said Caroline LaPer, who didn't witness the shooting. "What is going on this world?"
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.
During the his campaign effort to unseat Giffords in November, Republican challenger Jesse Kelly held fundraisers where he urged supporters to help remove Giffords from office by joining him to shoot a fully loaded M-16 rifle. Kelly is a former Marine who served in Iraq and was pictured on his website in military gear holding his automatic weapon and promoting the event.
"I don't see the connection," between the fundraisers featuring weapons and Saturday's shooting, said John Ellinwood, Kelly's spokesman. "I don't know this person, we cannot find any records that he was associated with the campaign in any way. I just don't see the connection.
"Arizona is a state where people are firearms owners — this was just a deranged individual," Ellinwood said.
Giffords is known in her southern Arizona district for her numerous public outreach meetings, which she admitted0 in an October interview with The Associated Press can sometimes be challenging.
"You know, the crazies on all sides, the people who come out, the planet earth people," she said with a following an appearance with Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in Tucson where Mullen was questioned by a woman who wanted the military to start "building cities instead of destroying them." ''I'm glad this just doesn't happen to me."
Associated Press Writers Jacques Billeaud, Pauline Arrillaga and Paul Davenport in Phoenix and Matt Apuzzo in Washington contributed to this report. Espo contributed from Washington.
"We're getting out of here. We are freaked out," 33-year-old David Cleveland, who lives a few doors down from Loughner's house, told The Associated Press.
Cleveland said he was taking his wife and children, ages 5 and 7, to her parent's home when they heard about the shooting.
"When we heard about it we just got sick to our stomachs," Cleveland said. "We just wanted to hold our kids tight."
Caroline LaPer, who lives only a few blocks from the crime scene and was walking her golden retriever past the store Saturday afternoon, was looking out her window earlier in the day when she saw helicopters circling above. Then her husband called from a home show in downtown Tucson to say "There's been a shooting at Safeway. Don't go anywhere."
"It's just devastating. It's numbing. It's disheartening," said Caroline LaPer, who didn't witness the shooting. "What is going on this world?"
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.
During the his campaign effort to unseat Giffords in November, Republican challenger Jesse Kelly held fundraisers where he urged supporters to help remove Giffords from office by joining him to shoot a fully loaded M-16 rifle. Kelly is a former Marine who served in Iraq and was pictured on his website in military gear holding his automatic weapon and promoting the event.
"I don't see the connection," between the fundraisers featuring weapons and Saturday's shooting, said John Ellinwood, Kelly's spokesman. "I don't know this person, we cannot find any records that he was associated with the campaign in any way. I just don't see the connection.
"Arizona is a state where people are firearms owners — this was just a deranged individual," Ellinwood said.
Giffords is known in her southern Arizona district for her numerous public outreach meetings, which she admitted0 in an October interview with The Associated Press can sometimes be challenging.
"You know, the crazies on all sides, the people who come out, the planet earth people," she said with a following an appearance with Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in Tucson where Mullen was questioned by a woman who wanted the military to start "building cities instead of destroying them." ''I'm glad this just doesn't happen to me."
Associated Press Writers Jacques Billeaud, Pauline Arrillaga and Paul Davenport in Phoenix and Matt Apuzzo in Washington contributed to this report. Espo contributed from Washington.
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DUBLINGUY1973: You're right. My apologies.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of the injured and the dead
My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of the injured and the dead
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DUBLINGUY1973: I couldn't agree more
Thank you TT!!....I will look to you for continued updates on this tragedy..................as "I know" you will speak the truth.
.......Leigh------ This thread is Archived ------
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Gabrielle Giffords, 40-year-old Democratic member of the House of Representatives remains in a critical condition in hospital after being was shot at approximately 10am local time as she spoke outside a grocery shop for a constituency event. The attacker has been identified as white male in his late teens or early 20s.
Reuters reports that a total of 18 people were shot in the attack and six people have died, according to Rick Kastigar - an official from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.
University Medical Center spokeswoman Darci Slaten told Reuters that a nine-year-old girl was among the dead. Federal judge John Roll and an aide to the Congresswoman have also been confirmed dead.
Giffords, a vocal supporter of Obama’s Health Care Reform Bill, had been identified in a “target map” published by former Alaska governor Sarah Palin last year. A total of 20 House Democrats were identified on Palin’s target map, entitled “Its time to take a stand”.
The map and violent rhetoric by Palin’s Political Action Committee was criticised at the time as an “incitement to violence”, particularly after Palin tweeted the map to her followers with the words: “Don’t retreat, instead- RELOAD!”. US website Gawker reports that days after map was introduced, vandals smashed the windows of Giffords Tuscon office.
Gifford’s opponent in the 2010 election was Jesse Kelly, who held an campaign event entitled “Get on Target for Victory in November” – Description: “Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office. Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly.”
A motivation for the attack has not yet been identified.
President Obama has called the attack “an unspeakable tragedy”.