On January 8, 2011, U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords and 18 others were shot during a constituent meeting held in a supermarket parking lot in Casas Adobes, Arizona, in the Tucson metropolitan area. Six people were killed, including federal District Court Chief Judge John Roll; Gabe Zimmerman, one of Giffords's staffers; and a 9-year-old girl, Christina-Taylor Green. Giffords was holding the meeting, called "Congress on Your Corner", in the parking lot of a Safeway store when Jared Lee Loughner drew a pistol and shot her in the head before proceeding to fire on other people. One additional person was injured in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. News reports identified the target of the attack to be Giffords, a Democrat representing Arizona's 8th congressional district. She was shot through the head at point-blank range, and her medical condition was initially described as "critical".
First responders at the crime scene outside the Casas Adobes Safeway
Roadside sign for the "Congress on Your Corner" constituent meeting
Weapons recovered from perpetrator; knife, four magazines, Glock 19
La Toscana Village mall. The attack occurred near the Safeway main entrance, which is below the gable-end.
Gabrielle Dee Giffords is an American retired politician and gun control activist. She served as a member of the United States House of Representatives representing Arizona's 8th congressional district from January 2007 until January 2012, when she resigned because of a severe brain injury suffered during an assassination attempt. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the third woman in Arizona's history to be elected to the U.S. Congress.
Giffords in 2022
Giffords in 2008
Giffords during a press conference following her 2010 election victory
Giffords in 2008