US Congresswoman shot in Arizona
A US member of Congress from Arizona was shot and seriously wounded on Saturday by a man.
TUCSON, ARIZONA:
A US member of Congress from Arizona was shot and seriously wounded on Saturday by a man who opened fire at a meeting she was holding in Tucson.
Latest reports say that six people, including a judge, had died in the shooting incident.
Gabrielle Giffords, a 40-year-old Democrat in her third term in the US House of Representatives, was airlifted to a hospital in Tucson, Arizona shortly after being shot in the head at point blank range at a Safeway supermarket.
“She is currently in surgery. She’s alive,” University Medical Centre spokeswoman Darci Slaten told Reuters. “She was shot in the head,” Slaten later told CNN. Slaten added that nine others were being treated, all of them in critical or serious condition. One of the wounded was a child.
News reports said the suspected gunman was in custody. There was no word on his motives.
Giffords was hosting a “Congress on Your Corner” event – public gatherings to give her constituents a chance to talk directly with her - when attacked from about four feet away, NPR said.
It said the suspect tried to run away but was tackled by a bystander. Andrea Gooden, an eyewitness, told Fox News that she heard about 15 consecutive gunshots.
Re-elected in the Nov 2 midterm elections, Giffords has focused on immigration reform, military issues, stem cell research and alternative energy while in Congress. She is married to US astronaut Mark Kelly. Reuters
Published in The Express Tribune, January 9th, 2011.
A US member of Congress from Arizona was shot and seriously wounded on Saturday by a man who opened fire at a meeting she was holding in Tucson.
Latest reports say that six people, including a judge, had died in the shooting incident.
Gabrielle Giffords, a 40-year-old Democrat in her third term in the US House of Representatives, was airlifted to a hospital in Tucson, Arizona shortly after being shot in the head at point blank range at a Safeway supermarket.
“She is currently in surgery. She’s alive,” University Medical Centre spokeswoman Darci Slaten told Reuters. “She was shot in the head,” Slaten later told CNN. Slaten added that nine others were being treated, all of them in critical or serious condition. One of the wounded was a child.
News reports said the suspected gunman was in custody. There was no word on his motives.
Giffords was hosting a “Congress on Your Corner” event – public gatherings to give her constituents a chance to talk directly with her - when attacked from about four feet away, NPR said.
It said the suspect tried to run away but was tackled by a bystander. Andrea Gooden, an eyewitness, told Fox News that she heard about 15 consecutive gunshots.
Re-elected in the Nov 2 midterm elections, Giffords has focused on immigration reform, military issues, stem cell research and alternative energy while in Congress. She is married to US astronaut Mark Kelly. Reuters
Published in The Express Tribune, January 9th, 2011.