Arizona Hero Daniel Hernandez: I 'Shut Off My Emotions To Get Stuff Done'

by Mark Memmott

President Obama shakes hands with Daniel Hernandez Jr., during the memorial event, "Together We Thrive: Tucson and America," at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Arizona, on Wednesday (Jan. 12, 2011).

How did he apparently stay so calm and keep his head?

That's a question many have asked after hearing about what 20-year-old intern Daniel Hernandez Jr. did on Saturday when shots were fired during an event that his boss, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) was holding at a strip mall in Tucson.

David Becker/Getty Images Daniel Hernandez, Jr.

While six people lay dying and another 13, including Giffords, were down with gunshot wounds, Hernandez ran toward the sound of gunfire and to the congresswoman. He held the 40-year-old Giffords and administered some basic first aid that helped keep her alive.

Last night at the memorial service in Tucson, Hernandez insisted he's not a hero. President Obama insisted he is.

Today on Tell Me More, host Michel Martin asked Hernandez about his "poise under pressure ... where does it come from?"


"I think I've always just had the strange ability to kind of work under pressure and to shut off my emotions to get stuff done because I thrive when I'm under stress," he said.

Of course, Hernandez added, before Saturday that ability mostly was of good use "for big homework assignments ... not anything of real consequence."

Also during their conversation, Hernandez told Michel that "when I heard the gunshots, I knew she [Giffords] was likely ... the target, but probably not the only victim."

And, he described his last few days as "absolutely surreal."

"To go from such great sadness and loss to kind of as a community and a nation move forward in our grieving process," was important, he added. "Last night was absolutely a great step forward in bringing everyone together."

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When the Left AttacksPorn entrepreneur and Advocate columnist Michael Lucas calls out the Left for blaming the Giffords assassination attempt on right wing rhetoric.

By Michael Lucas

COMMENTARY: The moment the “Breaking News” banner went up on MSNBC, announcing the tragic shooting rampage in Tucson, Arizona, the knee-jerk liberal invectives hit the Twitter Face Space.

Of course it was Fox News’s fault.

Of course the blood’s on Sarah Palin’s hands—note the political map she posted during the campaign showing gun sights on congressional districts she wanted to defeat.

And, of course, before we even knew the name of the assailant, 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner, what triggered him was immediately obvious: He had been brainwashed by the poisoned brew of Tea Party anti-government rhetoric.

Three days later, what’s most amazing to me is how this blame-the-conservatives story line is alive and well, even after the facts have come to light.

Loughner is a mentally deranged wack-ball. A list of his favorite books, according to the Wall Street Journal, included Mein Kampf and The Communist Manifesto. He had become obsessed with Representative Giffords, a Jewish congresswoman and supporter of Israel.

There has been no evidence or indication to support the accusations and insinuations that he was inspired by the Tea Party.

In fact, he was known to burn the American flag burner, which is hardly a Tea Party ritual.

But why let the truth ruin a good story?

As the National Review points out, the best comparison may be to Sirhan Sirhan, who in 1968 assassinated presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy because of Kennedy’s support for Israel.

Truth is, this is the situation lefties have been secretly waiting for. It’s the chance to say that the Right is fomenting a culture of violence that would eventually lead to the death of innocents. See, Glenn Beck is an accomplice to murder!

They conveniently ignore the examples of so-called violent incitement by liberal commentators. Remember how Keith Olbermann, back in 2008, joked about using goons to get Hillary Clinton to drop out of the race against Obama? He suggested getting, “somebody who can take her into a room and only he comes out."

To blame Sarah Palin for this shooting rampage, as they are doing, is, at best, intellectually dishonest. At worst, it’s its own form of hate speech. Even Barbara Walters said on The View this week that she feels bad for Sarah for all the fingers pointing menacingly in her direction. Come on, Sarah Palin is enough of a stupid joke as a politician that Democrats should want to help her get the next Republican presidential nomination.

I find it absolutely disgusting that liberals would try to exploit this horrific event for political purposes. It’s too bad for them that Congresswoman Giffords is a true moderate. She’s a strong supporter of Second Amendment gun rights, and is even herself a former Republican.

The people who have more to worry about, in terms of their safety, are conservatives. Some well-known conservative speakers require security details to accompany them on speaking engagements on college campuses. Bill O’Reilly talks about receiving constant death threats.

If we’re going to speculate on root causes for Loughner turning into a murderous sociopath, why aren’t we talking about the extreme violence in today’s video games and movies? Whenever there’s a school shooting, don’t we always point to guns and killing being glamorized by Hollywood? The Left doesn’t want to go there when they see an opportunity to seek revenge on the party that just shellacked them in the November election.

This is an extraordinarily sad story for the people injured and killed, as well as for our country. But as a new American citizen, who is proud to be part of what this nation stands for, it hurts me to see those on the Left trying to use this horrific event as a means to smear those with whom they disagree.

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Hernandez: I Am Not a Hero

By Advocate.com Editors

Speaking Wednesday night at a memorial service for the victims of Saturday's shooting in Tucson, Daniel Hernandez, the gay intern credited with helping to save the life of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, said he appreciates the outpouring of support, but he does not believe he is a hero.

"Although I appreciate the sentiment, I must reject the word hero, for I am not one," Hernandez said to a cheering crowd. He then said the victims of the shooting, including Giffords, are "the real heroes ... the people who have dedicated themselves to public service."

Hernandez was seated next to Barack and Michelle Obama during the service, held at the University of Arizona. Later, Obama took to the stage and commended the 20-year-old intern.

"We are grateful to Daniel Hernandez," he said. "I am sorry, Daniel, you may deny it, but we decided you are a hero because you ran through the chaos to minister to your boss and tend to her wounds and helped keep her alive."

Obama announced during his speech that moments after he visited Giffords at the hospital, she had opened her eyes for the first time since the shooting.

Read a transcript of Obama's speech on the next page and check back for video.

To the families of those we’ve lost; to all who called them friends; to the students of this university, the public servants gathered tonight, and the people of Tucson and Arizona: I have come here tonight as an American who, like all Americans, kneels to pray with you today, and will stand by you tomorrow.

There is nothing I can say that will fill the sudden hole torn in your hearts. But know this: the hopes of a nation are here tonight. We mourn with you for the fallen. We join you in your grief. And we add our faith to yours that Representative Gabrielle Giffords and the other living victims of this tragedy pull through.

As Scripture tells us:

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.

On Saturday morning, Gabby, her staff, and many of her constituents gathered outside a supermarket to exercise their right to peaceful assembly and free speech. They were fulfilling a central tenet of the democracy envisioned by our founders — representatives of the people answering to their constituents, so as to carry their concerns to our nation’s capital. Gabby called it “Congress on Your Corner” — just an updated version of government of and by and for the people.

That is the quintessentially American scene that was shattered by a gunman’s bullets. And the six people who lost their lives on Saturday — they too represented what is best in America.

Judge John Roll served our legal system for nearly 40 years. A graduate of this university and its law school, Judge Roll was recommended for the federal bench by John McCain 20 years ago, appointed by President George H.W. Bush, and rose to become Arizona’s chief federal judge. His colleagues described him as the hardest-working judge within the Ninth Circuit. He was on his way back from attending Mass, as he did every day, when he decided to stop by and say hi to his Representative. John is survived by his loving wife, Maureen, his three sons, and his five grandchildren.

George and Dorothy Morris — “Dot” to her friends — were high school sweethearts who got married and had two daughters. They did everything together, traveling the open road in their RV, enjoying what their friends called a 50-year honeymoon. Saturday morning, they went by the Safeway to hear what their Congresswoman had to say. When gunfire rang out, George, a former Marine, instinctively tried to shield his wife. Both were shot. Dot passed away.

A New Jersey native, Phyllis Schneck retired to Tucson to beat the snow. But in the summer, she would return East, where her world revolved around her three children, seven grandchildren, and 2-year-old great-granddaughter. A gifted quilter, she’d often work under her favorite tree, or sometimes sew aprons with the logos of the Jets and the Giants to give out at the church where she volunteered. A Republican, she took a liking to Gabby, and wanted to get to know her better.

Dorwan and Mavy Stoddard grew up in Tucson together – about 70 years ago. They moved apart and started their own respective families, but after both were widowed they found their way back here, to, as one of Mavy’s daughters put it, “be boyfriend and girlfriend again.” When they weren’t out on the road in their motor home, you could find them just up the road, helping folks in need at the Mountain Avenue Church of Christ. A retired construction worker, Dorwan spent his spare time fixing up the church along with their dog, Tux. His final act of selflessness was to dive on top of his wife, sacrificing his life for hers.

Everything Gabe Zimmerman did, he did with passion — but his true passion was people. As Gabby’s outreach director, he made the cares of thousands of her constituents his own, seeing to it that seniors got the Medicare benefits they had earned, that veterans got the medals and care they deserved, that government was working for ordinary folks. He died doing what he loved — talking with people and seeing how he could help. Gabe is survived by his parents, Ross and Emily, his brother, Ben, and his fiancée, Kelly, who he planned to marry next year.

And then there is 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green. Christina was an A student, a dancer, a gymnast, and a swimmer. She often proclaimed that she wanted to be the first woman to play in the major leagues, and as the only girl on her Little League team, no one put it past her. She showed an appreciation for life uncommon for a girl her age, and would remind her mother, “We are so blessed. We have the best life.” And she’d pay those blessings back by participating in a charity that helped children who were less fortunate.

Our hearts are broken by their sudden passing. Our hearts are broken — and yet, our hearts also have reason for fullness.

Our hearts are full of hope and thanks for the 13 Americans who survived the shooting, including the congresswoman many of them went to see on Saturday. I have just come from the University Medical Center, just a mile from here, where our friend Gabby courageously fights to recover even as we speak. And I can tell you this — she knows we’re here and she knows we love her and she knows that we will be rooting for her throughout what will be a difficult journey.

And our hearts are full of gratitude for those who saved others. We are grateful for Daniel Hernandez, a volunteer in Gabby’s office who ran through the chaos to minister to his boss, tending to her wounds to keep her alive. We are grateful for the men who tackled the gunman as he stopped to reload. We are grateful for a petite 61-year-old, Patricia Maisch, who wrestled away the killer’s ammunition, undoubtedly saving some lives. And we are grateful for the doctors and nurses and emergency medics who worked wonders to heal those who’d been hurt.

These men and women remind us that heroism is found not only on the fields of battle. They remind us that heroism does not require special training or physical strength. Heroism is here, all around us, in the hearts of so many of our fellow citizens, just waiting to be summoned – as it was on Saturday morning.

Their actions, their selflessness, also pose a challenge to each of us. It raises the question of what, beyond the prayers and expressions of concern, is required of us going forward. How can we honor the fallen? How can we be true to their memory?

You see, when a tragedy like this strikes, it is part of our nature to demand explanations — to try to impose some order on the chaos, and make sense out of that which seems senseless. Already we’ve seen a national conversation commence, not only about the motivations behind these killings, but about everything from the merits of gun safety laws to the adequacy of our mental health systems. Much of this process, of debating what might be done to prevent such tragedies in the future, is an essential ingredient in our exercise of self-government.

But at a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized — at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do — it’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds.

Scripture tells us that there is evil in the world, and that terrible things happen for reasons that defy human understanding. In the words of Job, “when I looked for light, then came darkness.” Bad things happen, and we must guard against simple explanations in the aftermath.

For the truth is that none of us can know exactly what triggered this vicious attack. None of us can know with any certainty what might have stopped those shots from being fired, or what thoughts lurked in the inner recesses of a violent man’s mind.

So yes, we must examine all the facts behind this tragedy. We cannot and will not be passive in the face of such violence. We should be willing to challenge old assumptions in order to lessen the prospects of violence in the future.

But what we can’t do is use this tragedy as one more occasion to turn on one another. As we discuss these issues, let each of us do so with a good dose of humility. Rather than pointing fingers or assigning blame, let us use this occasion to expand our moral imaginations, to listen to each other more carefully, to sharpen our instincts for empathy, and remind ourselves of all the ways our hopes and dreams are bound together.

After all, that’s what most of us do when we lose someone in our family — especially if the loss is unexpected. We’re shaken from our routines, and forced to look inward. We reflect on the past. Did we spend enough time with an aging parent? we wonder. Did we express our gratitude for all the sacrifices they made for us? Did we tell a spouse just how desperately we loved them, not just once in a while but every single day?

So sudden loss causes us to look backward — but it also forces us to look forward, to reflect on the present and the future, on the manner in which we live our lives and nurture our relationships with those who are still with us. We may ask ourselves if we’ve shown enough kindness and generosity and compassion to the people in our lives. Perhaps we question whether we are doing right by our children, or our community, and whether our priorities are in order. We recognize our own mortality, and are reminded that in the fleeting time we have on this earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame — but rather, how well we have loved, and what small part we have played in bettering the lives of others.

That process of reflection, of making sure we align our values with our actions — that, I believe, is what a tragedy like this requires. For those who were harmed, those who were killed — they are part of our family, an American family 300 million strong. We may not have known them personally, but we surely see ourselves in them. In George and Dot, in Dorwan and Mavy, we sense the abiding love we have for our own husbands, our own wives, our own life partners. Phyllis — she’s our mom or grandma; Gabe our brother or son. In Judge Roll, we recognize not only a man who prized his family and doing his job well, but also a man who embodied America’s fidelity to the law. In Gabby, we see a reflection of our public-spiritedness, that desire to participate in that sometimes frustrating, sometimes contentious, but always necessary and never-ending process to form a more perfect union.

And in Christina ... in Christina we see all of our children. So curious, so trusting, so energetic and full of magic.

So deserving of our love.

And so deserving of our good example. If this tragedy prompts reflection and debate, as it should, let’s make sure it’s worthy of those we have lost. Let’s make sure it’s not on the usual plane of politics and point-scoring and pettiness that drifts away with the next news cycle.

The loss of these wonderful people should make every one of us strive to be better in our private lives — to be better friends and neighbors, coworkers and parents. And if, as has been discussed in recent days, their deaths help usher in more civility in our public discourse, let’s remember that it is not because a simple lack of civility caused this tragedy, but rather because only a more civil and honest public discourse can help us face up to our challenges as a nation, in a way that would make them proud. It should be because we want to live up to the example of public servants like John Roll and Gabby Giffords, who knew first and foremost that we are all Americans, and that we can question each other’s ideas without questioning each other’s love of country, and that our task, working together, is to constantly widen the circle of our concern so that we bequeath the American dream to future generations.

I believe we can be better. Those who died here, those who saved lives here — they help me believe. We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another is entirely up to us. I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us.

That’s what I believe, in part because that’s what a child like Christina Taylor Green believed. Imagine: here was a young girl who was just becoming aware of our democracy; just beginning to understand the obligations of citizenship; just starting to glimpse the fact that someday she too might play a part in shaping her nation’s future. She had been elected to her student council; she saw public service as something exciting, something hopeful. She was off to meet her congresswoman, someone she was sure was good and important and might be a role model. She saw all this through the eyes of a child, undimmed by the cynicism or vitriol that we adults all too often just take for granted.

I want us to live up to her expectations. I want our democracy to be as good as she imagined it. All of us — we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children’s expectations.

Christina was given to us on September th, 2001, one of 50 babies born that day to be pictured in a book called Faces of Hope. On either side of her photo in that book were simple wishes for a child’s life. “I hope you help those in need,” read one. “I hope you know all of the words to the National Anthem and sing it with your hand over your heart. I hope you jump in rain puddles.”

If there are rain puddles in heaven, Christina is jumping in them today. And here on Earth, we place our hands over our hearts, and commit ourselves as Americans to forging a country that is forever worthy of her gentle, happy spirit.

May God bless and keep those we’ve lost in restful and eternal peace. May He love and watch over the survivors. And may He bless the United States of America.

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Why I find Sarah Palin’s response to Arizona shootings’ aftermath ‘reprehensible’

By Brody Levesque

Tucson residents hold vigil outside the office of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in the aftermath of Saturday's attempted assassination and mass shooting.

It is not often that I find it necessary to set aside my press credentials and lend an opinion to public discourse on any given subject that I report on. However, that said, I need to comment not as an American which I am not, nor as a Canadian which I am, but rather as a human being and responsible adult living in a divisive and polarized society here in the United States.

Earlier today, former Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin, issued a video statement in response to the tragic assassination attempt on the life of U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, which resulted in Rep. Giffords being critically injured, six persons left dead, including a nine year old child and a sitting federal judge, and 13 others seriously injured.

In the initial hours as law enforcement commenced their investigative work, the Sheriff of Pima County, Ariz., in a press briefing, made an impassioned statement regarding what the good sheriff felt was of a contributory circumstance to the shooter’s actions — the elevated vitriolic rhetoric that has been seen, heard, and utilized in the American political process particularly over these past three years.

Commentators, reporters, and the public immediately took positions both pro and con on the sheriff’s remarks, which by the way, he has consistently maintained accurately reflect his viewpoint through the course of the unfolding aftermath in Tucson.

During the coverage of this tragic event, myself, colleagues, and others in the blogosphere and media included a particular graphic that had been employed in the campaign by the political action committee headed by Palin, advocating specific “targeting” of opposition congressional districts including Representative Giffords in the last election cycle.

The graphic(s) were clearly depicting a series “gunsight crosshairs” superimposed over various congressional districts including Congresswoman Giffords’ district. This was intentional on our part to illustrate, in part, Sheriff Clarence Dupnik’s assertions.

Dupnik has been under relentless fire from conservatives since his impassioned and impromptu plea for an end to hateful and violent rhetoric. So much in fact, as ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer reported last evening on “World News Tonight,” the Sheriff and conservative hard line radio pundit Rush Limbaugh have traded barbs.

Which brings me to today’s Palin video, my colleagues at Politico reported:

Palin has faced criticism for images that look like gun crosshairs to identify the districts of Democrats who were vulnerable in the 2010 elections, that of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), who was shot on Saturday.

Responsibility lies “not collectively with all the citizens of a state, not with those who listen to talk radio, not with maps of swing districts used by both sides of the aisle, not with law-abiding citizens who respectfully exercise their First Amendment rights at campaign rallies, not with those who proudly voted in the last election,” Palin said.

Palin placed blame on the media.”[E]specially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn,” she said. “That is reprehensible.”

 I want to highlight specifically the former governor’s choice of using the term ‘blood libel’ when attempting to deflect responsibility for her own rhetoric and her critique of the media.

By using the term “blood libel” to describe the criticism about political rhetoric after the shootings, Palin was inventing a new definition for an emotionally laden phrase.

Blood libel is typically used to describe the false accusation that Jews murder Christian children to use their blood in religious rituals, in particular the baking of matzos for passover. The term has been used for centuries as the pretext for anti-semitism and violent pogroms against Jews.

Given that Congresswoman Giffords is Jewish, its absolutely reprehensible to ‘coin’ a term to use in a public statement such as that made by today by Palin.

Instead of taking ownership and accountability for the mere chance that the troubled and obviously mentally at risk shooter might have been influenced by such rhetoric, Palin, and in fact nearly all of the so-called conservative right, have attempted to blame the poisonous atmosphere that surrounds the American political landscape on the opposition and those who decry such vitriol.


The New York Times reported this morning:

Ms. Palin was not the only one to respond to criticism Wednesday. Sharron Angle, the Tea Party-backed Republican who lost her Senate race against Democrat Harry Reid of Nevada, also issued a statement defending herself against criticism.

“Expanding the context of the attack to blame and to infringe upon the people’s Constitutional liberties is both dangerous and ignorant,” she said in the statement, according to media reports. “The irresponsible assignment of blame to me, Sarah Palin or the Tea Party movement by commentators and elected officials puts all who gather to redress grievances in danger.”

Ms. Angle said during the campaign that voters could pursue “Second Amendment remedies” if the political process doesn’t work for them. In the wake of the shooting, those remarks have been criticized anew.

But Ms. Angle said in her statement Wednesday that: “Finger-pointing towards political figures is an audience-rating game and contradicts the facts as they are known – that the shooter was obsessed with his twisted plans long before the Tea Party movement began.”

 I see this as a massive effort to minimize the reality of this entire tragic event which no rational thinking individual cannot but help wonder what may have influenced the shooter’s decision, contributing to his apparent twisted mental state.

my colleagues at Politico Palin offered this:

“We will not be stopped from celebrating the greatness of of our country and our foundational freedoms by those who mock its greatness by being intolerant of differing opinion and seeking to muzzle dissent with shrill cries of imagined insults,” she said.

When is it acceptable to put gun sights on a political opponent in campaign literature, to encourage 2nd Amendment “solutions” and wanting your supporters to be “armed and dangerous?” This is definitely NOT nonviolent rhetoric, and this in no way “condems” violence.

I thought about embedding the former governor’s video recorded remarks, and decided that I am not going to be a party to further enabling her to spread a message that contains such a vile use of that term, attempting to redefine blood libel, in her efforts to be a ministrant to her core audience and followers and justify without holding herself accountable in a continuation of irresponsible political rhetoric.

I find that conduct reprehensible.

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Doctors Say Giffords’s Condition Points to Survival

by JENNIFER MEDINA

TUCSON — Just three days after a bullet passed through Representative Gabrielle Giffords’s brain, and one day before the president was scheduled to come here to address the shooting rampage in which she was wounded, doctors said Tuesday that Ms. Giffords’s chances of survival were certain. She is able to breathe on her own, although she remains on a ventilator as a precaution.

What her recovery will look like, however, and how long it will take remain unclear.

“She has a 101 percent chance of survival,” said Dr. Peter Rhee the director of medical trauma at the University Medical Center, where Ms. Giffords is being treated. “I can’t tell whether she’s going to be in a vegetative state. I hope that she’s not and I don’t think she will be in a vegetative state, but I know that she’s not going to die.”

President Obama will deliver a speech here Wednesday evening at a memorial service for the victims of the attack. His aides said he would focus on the theme of service to country and avoid the debate about whether the state’s political climate might have played a role in the tragedy.

Instead, Mr. Obama, who was still working with his speechwriters on Tuesday, will call for unity among Americans, while trying to hold up the lives of the victims, including their service to government, as an example to all Americans. He will share some anecdotes about the victims from private phone calls he has made to the families, aides said.

Meanwhile, across Tucson, there was a flurry of efforts to address the psychological effects of Saturday morning’s shootings, which left six dead and 14 wounded. Two churches held memorial services Tuesday night, drawing large crowds.

In Phoenix, the State Legislature quickly passed an emergency law to block a controversial church that protests outside funerals from getting too close to the services planned in Tucson.

The measure, which keeps protesters 300 feet back from funerals, is intended to head off members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas, who have praised the shooting and plan to picket the funeral on Thursday of Christina Green, a 9-year-old victim, and a service on Friday for Judge John M. Roll of Federal District Court.

“I was physically sick when I heard this,” said State Senator Kyrsten Sinema, who sponsored the measure. “Then I decided to do something. Nothing happens in one day in politics, but this did. This tragedy is nonpartisan. It’s human.”

Community volunteers were mobilizing to plan their own street-side memorial service to counter the protesters, with some planning to wear angel wings.

At the hospital, Ms. Giffords’s doctors said the outcome could have been far worse. They said she had done remarkably well so far. But they cautioned that there was little more they could do medically to help her improve.

Over the last several days, Ms. Giffords has repeatedly given nonverbal responses to her doctors’ commands, they said, and CAT scan X-rays have shown that there is no swelling, which continues to be the most serious threat. So far, doctors said, she has shown only slight movement on the right side of her body, raising questions about her functional neurological status. Doctors again declined to give some specific details about Ms. Giffords.

“This is the phase of the care where it’s so much up to her,” said Dr. G. Michael Lemole Jr., the hospital’s chief of neurosurgery, during a news conference Tuesday morning. “As long as we don’t backslide and as long as she holds her own, that’s good. That keeps us hopeful. But we have to play this really according to her timeline, not ours.”

Dr. Lemole said Ms. Giffords would remain connected to a ventilator as a precaution, to prevent pneumonia or infections in her windpipe. But because she cannot talk it is so far not possible for doctors to assess more complex brain functions.

For the last three days, Ms. Giffords has repeatedly gripped hands or flashed a finger after doctors prompted her. Dr. Rhee said Ms. Giffords appeared to be responding without prompts now, repeatedly flashing a thumbs-up at doctors and her husband, Mark Kelly, an astronaut.

“She has no right to look this good, and she does,” Dr. Lemole said.

Five other victims remained in the hospital on Tuesday, including Suzi Hileman, who had taken 9-year-old Christina Green to the event Saturday. Ms. Hileman is expected to recover from at least three gunshot wounds and a shattered hip. The most difficult path ahead will be grappling with the emotions, and guilt, over Christina’s death, her husband, Bill Hileman, said Tuesday.

Several times in the last three days, Mr. Hileman said, his wife has screamed “Christina! Christina!” as though she were having a flashback. “She keeps talking about how they had this incredibly tight grip on each other” when the shots began, he said. “She told me that they were almost breaking each other’s hands.”

Reporting was contributed by Lawrence K. Altman and Helene Cooper in Washington and Marc Lacey, Ford Burkhart, Ron Nixon, Lisa Button, Carli Brosseau, Will Ferguson and Clayton Norman in Tucson.

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2nd Suspect Sought in Arizona Shooting

By MARC LACEY and DAVID M. HERSZENHORN

The parking lot in Tucson where Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona and others were shot.

TUCSON — Representative Gabrielle Giffords, an Arizona Democrat, and 18 others were shot Saturday morning when a gunman opened fire outside a supermarket where Ms. Giffords was meeting with constituents.

Six of the victims died, among them John M. Roll, the chief judge for the United States District Court for Arizona, and a 9-year-old girl, the Pima County sheriff, Clarence W. Dupnik, said.

A 22-year-old suspect was in custody, law enforcement officials said. But at a Saturday evening news conference, investigators said they were looking for an accomplice, believed to be in his 50s, who may have assisted in the attack.

Ms. Giffords, 40, who the authorities said was the target of the attack, was said to be in very critical condition at the University Medical Center in Tucson, where she was operated on by a team of neurosurgeons. Dr. Peter Rhee, medical director of the hospital’s trauma and critical care unit, said that she had been shot once in the head, “through and through,” with the bullet going through her brain.

President Obama said at a news conference that the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Robert S. Mueller III, was on his way to Arizona to oversee the investigation.

Investigators identified the gunman as Jared Lee Loughner, 22, and said that he was refusing to cooperate with the authorities and had invoked his Fifth Amendment rights.

Pima Community College said Mr. Loughner had been suspended for conduct violations and withdrew in October after five instances of classroom or library disruptions that involved the campus police.

The authorities were seen entering the Loughner family house about five miles from the shooting scene — an unincorporated area north of Tucson.

The shootings raised questions about potential political motives, and Sheriff Dupnik blamed the toxic political environment in Arizona. There were immediate national reverberations as Democrats denounced the fierce partisan atmosphere in Ms. Gifford’s district and top Republicans quickly condemned the violence.

Mark Kimble, an aide to Ms. Giffords, said the shooting occurred about 10 a.m. in a small area between an American flag and an Arizona flag. He said that he went into the store for coffee, and that as he came out the gunman started firing.

Ms. Giffords had been talking to a couple about Medicare and reimbursements, and Judge Roll had just walked up to her and shouted “Hi,” when the gunman, wearing sunglasses and perhaps a hood of some sort, approached and shot the judge, Mr. Kimble said. “Everyone hit the ground,” he said. “It was so shocking.”

The United States Capitol Police, which is investigating the attack, cautioned lawmakers “to take reasonable and prudent precautions regarding their personal security.”

Because of the shootings, House Republicans postponed all legislation to be considered on the floor this week, including a vote to repeal the health care overhaul. The House majority leader, Representative Eric Cantor, Republican of Virginia, said lawmakers needed to “take whatever actions may be necessary in light of today’s tragedy.”

Speaking of Ms. Giffords’s condition, Dr. Rhee said at a news conference, “I can tell you at this time, I am very optimistic about her recovery.” He added, “We cannot tell what kind of recovery, but I’m as optimistic as it can get in this kind of situation.”

Several aides to Ms. Giffords were wounded, and her director of community outreach, Gabe Zimmerman, 30, was among those killed. The Arizona Republic said that the girl had been identified as Christina Taylor Green, a third grader. Dorthy Murray, 76; Dorwin Stoddard, 76; and Phyllis Scheck, 79, also died at the scene, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.

Ms. Giffords, who represents the Eighth District, in the southeastern corner of Arizona, has been an outspoken critic of the state’s tough immigration law, which is focused on identifying, prosecuting and deporting illegal immigrants, and she had come under criticism for her vote in favor of the Democrats’ health care law.

Friends said she had received threats over the years. Judge Roll had been involved in immigration cases and had previously received death threats.

The police said Ms. Giffords’s district office was evacuated late Saturday after a suspicious package was found. Officers later cleared the scene.

Ms. Giffords, widely known as Gabby, had been speaking to constituents in a supermarket alcove under a large white banner bearing her name when a man surged forward and began firing. He tried to escape but was tackled by a bystander and taken into custody by the police.

Jared Lee Loughner

The event, called “Congress on Your Corner,” was outside a Safeway supermarket and was the first opportunity for constituents to meet with Ms. Giffords since she was sworn in for a third term on Wednesday.

Ms. Giffords was part of the Democratic class of 2006 that swept Democrats into the majority in the House. She narrowly won re-election in November, while many fellow Democrats were toppled and the House turned to Republican control.

“I saw the congresswoman talking to two people, and then this man suddenly came up and shot her in the head and then shot other people,” said Dr. Steven Rayle, a witness to the shootings and former emergency room doctor who now works at a hospice. “I think it was a semiautomatic, and he must have got off 20 rounds.”

Dr. Rayle said that Ms. Giffords slumped to the ground and that staff members immediately rushed to her aid. “A staffer had his arm around her, and she was leaning against the window of the Safeway,” the doctor said. “He had a jacket or towel on her head.”

At least one of the other shooting victims helped Ms. Giffords, witnesses said.

Television broadcasts showed a chaotic scene outside a normally tranquil suburban shopping spot as emergency workers rushed to carry the wounded away in stretchers. Some of the victims were taken from the site by helicopter, three of which had arrived.

Law enforcement officials said that the congresswoman had received numerous threats.

Congressional leaders of both parties issued statements throughout the day expressing outrage at the shooting as well as concern and prayers for Ms. Giffords and her family.

The new House speaker, John A. Boehner, said: “I am horrified by the senseless attack on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and members of her staff. An attack on one who serves is an attack on all who serve.

“Acts and threats of violence against public officials have no place in our society. Our prayers are with Congresswoman Giffords, her staff, all who were injured and their families. This is a sad day for our country.”

Senator John McCain of Arizona, a Republican who serves in Washington with Ms. Giffords, issued one of the strongest statements, saying: “I am horrified by the violent attack on Representative Gabrielle Giffords and many other innocent people by a wicked person who has no sense of justice or compassion. I pray for Gabby and the other victims, and for the repose of the souls of the dead and comfort for their families.”

He added, “Whoever did this, whatever their reason, they are a disgrace to Arizona, this country and the human race, and they deserve and will receive the contempt of all decent people and the strongest punishment of the law.”

Ms. Giffords is a centrist Democrat who won re-election in part by stressing her strong support for gun rights and for tougher immigration controls, including tighter border security, even though she opposed the controversial Arizona law.

Last March, after the final approval of the Democrats’ health care law, which Ms. Giffords supported, the windows of her office in Tucson were broken or shot out in an act of vandalism. Similar acts were reported by other members of Congress.

In August 2009, when there were demonstrations against the health care measure across the nation, a protester who showed up to meet Ms. Giffords at a supermarket event similar to Saturday’s was removed by the police when the pistol he had holstered under his armpit fell and bounced on the floor.

In an interview at the Capitol this week, Ms. Giffords said she was excited to count herself among the Democrats who joined the new Republican majority in reading the Constitution aloud from the House floor. She said she was particularly pleased with being assigned the reading of the First Amendment.

“I wanted to be here,” she said. “I think it’s important. Reflecting on the Constitution in a bipartisan way is a good way to start the year.”

As a Democrat, Ms. Giffords is something of anomaly in Arizona and in her district, which has traditionally tilted Republican. Last year, she barely squeaked to victory over a Republican challenger, Jesse Kelly. But she had clearly heard the message that constituents were dissatisfied with Democratic leaders in Washington.

At the Capitol last week, Ms. Giffords refused to support the outgoing Democratic House speaker, Nancy Pelosi of California, in her symbolic contest with the Republican, Mr. Boehner of Ohio. Instead, she cast her vote for Representative John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat and hero of the civil rights movement.

“It’s not surprising that today Gabby was doing what she always does: listening to the hopes and concerns of her neighbors,” Mr. Obama said during a news conference Saturday, calling her a “friend of mine” and an “extraordinary public servant.” “I know Gabby is as tough as they come,” he said. “Obviously, our hearts go out to the family members of those who have been slain.” “We’re going to get to the bottom of this, and we’re going to get through this,” he said.

The shooting mobilized officials at the White House and throughout the highest levels of government, including the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department.

Rabbi Stephanie Aaron, who in 2007 officiated at the wedding of Ms. Giffords and the astronaut Mark E. Kelly, and leads Congregation Chaverim in Tucson, said the congresswoman had never expressed any concern about her safety.

“No fear. I’ve only seen the bravest possible, most intelligent young congresswoman,” Rabbi Aaron said. “I feel like this is really one of those proverbial — seemingly something coming out of nowhere.”

At Ms. Giffords’s district office, a group of about 50 people formed a prayer circle. Chris Cole, a Tucson police officer whose neighborhood beat includes the district office, said of the shooting, “This kind of thing just doesn’t happen in Tucson.”

Behind the office, in the parking lot, campaign volunteers stood around a car with the door open, listening to a live radio broadcast of a hospital news conference updating the congresswoman’s condition. A cheer went up when it was announced that she was still alive.

The volunteers included Kelly Canady and her mother, Patricia Canady, both longtime campaign workers.

Patricia Canedy had worked for Ms. Giffords since she served in the State Senate while Kelly, her daughter, moved to Tucson 13 years ago and was active in last year’s campaign and in the health care debate.

“She’s one of those people who remembers you. She always spoke to me by my first name,” Kelly Canady said. “She loved everybody. She was very easy to talk to. She was one of the main reasons I will stay involved in politics.”

Marc Lacey reported from Tucson, and David M. Herszenhorn from Washington. Reporting for the Arizona shooting coverage was contributed by Emmarie Huetteman, Janie Lorber, Michael D. Shear and Ashley Southall from Washington; Lisa M. Button, Ford Burkhart, Devlin Houser, Ron Nixon, Nancy Sharkey and Joe Sharkey from Tucson; J. David Goodman and Sarah Wheaton from New York; and Kitty Bennett from Tampa, Fla.
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Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords shot in Tucson

From Times staff and wire reports

The Democrat is in critical condition after a gunman opened fire at a supermarket. Six are dead and at least 12 others are injured. The suspect is in custody but authorities are seeking a second person in connection with the shooting.

 


Reporting from Tucson, Ariz —
Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head and critically injured Saturday during a meet-and-greet with constituents at a Tucson supermarket when a gunman opened fire, killing six — including U.S. District Judge John M. Roll — and wounding at least 12 others.

Giffords, a 40-year-old centrist Democrat who is a leading proponent of immigration reform and fiscal belt-tightening, was shot point-blank, but her surgeon said he was "very optimistic" she would survive the attack.

A 9-year-old girl also was killed in the mid-morning attack that unfolded while Giffords was hosting an event at the bustling shopping center, which quickly turned chaotic as police cordoned off streets and rescue helicopters rushed to the scene.

About 15 to 20 shots were fired in rapid succession, witnesses told news agencies at the scene. A federal source identified the suspect as Jared Lee Loughner, 22, who reportedly fired a pistol with an "extended magazine," the source said.

The motive in the attack was unknown. Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said he believed Giffords was the intended target of the shooting.

"He has kind of a troubled past and we're not convinced that he acted alone," Dupnik told a news conference in reference to the suspect.

Authorities were seeking a second male in connection with the shooting, he said.

The youngest woman ever elected to the House when she joined Congress in 2006, Giffords recently survived a tough reelection campaign for her third term, defeating "tea party" candidate Jesse Kelly by just 4,000 votes.

There were no immediate signs that Loughner had overt political connections. A rambling series of YouTube videos posted as "my final thoughts" by someone with that name talked of "a mind controller … able to control every belief and religion."

Tyler Ramsier, 24, said he attended school with Loughner at Mountain View High School in Tucson and that Loughner graduated in 2007. Ramsier said Loughner hung out with a group of friends who wore trench coats and baggy pants and kept to themselves. Ramsier described them as "contrary."

Sheriff's officials cordoned off the area of North Soledad Avenue where Loughner lives, a neighborhood in northwest Tucson of mostly one-story, brick houses.

Bert Escovar, 71, who has been a resident of the neighborhood for 30 years, said he believed the alleged shooter lives with his mother and father. "Every time I saw him, he was by himself," said Escovar, who added that he had seen Loughner but never spoken with him. "He dressed like a normal teenager."

David Cook, who has lived in the neighborhood for seven years, said the family moved there about four years ago and seemed friendly and often waved when they drove down the street. Cook said Loughner's father rebuilds classic cars and owns a 1967 Chevelle.

Giffords was shot with a single bullet to the head that went "through and through," but was "responding to commands" after undergoing neurosurgery, said Peter Rhee, director of trauma at the University Medical Center in Tucson.

"I can tell you at the current time period, I'm very optimistic about recovery," Rhee told reporters. "We cannot tell about full recovery, but I'm about as optimistic as I can get in this situation."

President Obama called the shooting an "unspeakable tragedy."

"We're going to get to the bottom of this, and we're going to get through this," he declared. "I know Gabby is as tough as they come, and I am hopeful that she is going to pull through."

The president, who called Giffords "a friend," said authorities still do not know what provoked the attack.

"It is not surprising that Gabby today was doing what she always does, listening to the hopes and concerns of her neighbors," he added. "That is the essence of what our democracy is all about. That is why this is a tragedy for more than those involved."

Arizona Sen. John McCain, a Republican, called the shooter a "wicked person who has no sense of justice or compassion" and said he was praying for the recovery of the victims.

"Whoever did this, whatever their reason, they are a disgrace to Arizona, this country and the human race, and they deserve and will receive the contempt of all decent people and the strongest punishment of the law," McCain said.

Arizona's GOP chairman, Randy Pullen, said party members are "deeply saddened and mortified" by the shooting.

"Senseless acts of violence like these are shocking, disturbing and have no place in our country. The thoughts and prayers of all Arizonans are with the victims and families during this terrible tragedy in our state's history. We sincerely hope that the responsible party is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," he said.

Just an hour before the shooting, Giffords had posted an announcement on her Twitter account: "My 1st Congress on Your Corner starts now. Please stop by to let me know what is on your mind or tweet me later."

This has been a winning formula in her conservative, border district. Giffords survived a tough challenge from a "tea party" candidate in the November election.

Her district was littered with signs proclaiming, "Giffords Opposes SB1070," referring to her opposition to Arizona's tough anti-immigration measures.

She has been a perennial top target of Arizona Republicans. Her district office was vandalized after she voted for the healthcare reform bill and friends said she had received several unspecified threats.

She is married to Mark E. Kelly, 46, a pilot and astronaut who was commander of the space shuttle Endeavour. His twin brother, Scott, is also an astronaut.

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Pro-LGBT Congresswoman gunned down in Arizona shooting; federal judge fatally wounded

Rep. Giffords

By Brody Levesque & Darryl Morris

TUCSON, Ariz. — U. S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) underwent surgery after being shot in the head at a public event in Tucson, Ariz. today. At least five people were killed in the shooting incident, including a federal judge.

Giffords, 40, a member of the House LGBT Equality Caucus and a strong supporter of gay rights, was shot at close range in the head during a “Congress On Your Corner” event outside a Safeway grocery store in northwest Tucson.

NPR reports at least 13 people were injured, and that among the dead are U.S. District Judge John Roll.

Giffords is alive and out of surgery, according to Dr. Peter Rhee, director of trauma at the University Medical Center in Tucson.

“I’m as optimistic as you can get in this situation,” Rhee said, but said he will monitor her closely in the next 24 hours before determining her prognosis.

The Shooting:

Giffords was talking to a couple shortly after 10:00 a.m. when the suspect, identified as 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner, ran up and fired from about four feet away.

A witness, Steven Rayle, a Tucson doctor, told The Washington Post, that he saw the gunman, a young man wearing sneakers and what appeared to be navy blue sweats, approach Gifford with a semi-automatic handgun raised. The gunman said nothing before shooting the congresswoman once in the head, Rayle said.

After Giffords fell, he said, a number of people sought to flee the scene but were trapped — hemmed in by the table and a concrete post. The gunman then fired into the crowd, he said.

“It was so close, and sort of a tight thing, there was nowhere easy to run,” Rayle said. “So most of the crowd got it, you know.”

“People that were there were just sitting ducks,” Rayle said. “I don’t think he was even aiming. He was just firing at whatever.”

After a few seconds, Rayle said, the man stopped shooting and tried to flee.

Loughner was tackled by a bystander and taken into custody. Authorities recovered a single weapon, a pistol with what was described as an “extended magazine.”

The Shooter:

Loughner told authorities at the scene he had acted alone, although it was not certain that was the case, officials said. A former classmate described Loughner as a pot-smoking loner who had rambling beliefs about the world, The Associated Press reported.

Federal law enforcement officials were poring over captured versions of a MySpace page that belonged to the suspect and over Youtube video published to the Internet weeks ago under an account “Classitup10″ and linked to him.

The MySpace page, which was removed within minutes of the gunman being identified by U.S. officials, included a mysterious “Goodbye friends” message published hours before the shooting and exhorted his friends to “Please don’t be mad at me.”

In one of several Youtube videos, which featured text against a dark background, Loughner described inventing a new U.S. currency and complained about the illiteracy rate among people living in Giffords’ congressional district in Arizona.

“I know who’s listening: Government Officials, and the People,” Loughner wrote. “Nearly all the people, who don’t know this accurate information of a new currency, aren’t aware of mind control and brainwash methods. If I have my civil rights, then this message wouldn’t have happen (sic).”

The Judge:

U.S. District Judge John Roll was among the dead. Giffords had worked with Roll in the past to line up funding to build a new courthouse in Yuma, and President Barack Obama hailed him for his nearly 40 years of service as a judge.

Roll, a married father of three children, was appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1991 to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. He had served as chief judge since 2006.

Law enforcement sources said that Roll lived nearby and stopped by the Safeway to say hello to Giffords.

“The devoted husband, father of three, grandfather of five, and friend to all who knew him, will be greatly missed by his family and community,” said a statement released by the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. “He was a warm, compassionate judge and inspirational leader in what is one of the busiest districts in the country.”

“Chief Judge John Roll was a dedicated jurist whose death is a terrible loss to Arizona and to the country,” said Vice-President Joe Biden in a statement today.

Giffords was first elected to represent Arizona’s 8th District in 2006, and re-elected last November. The “Congress on Your Corner” events allow constituents to present their concerns directly to her. The Congresswoman is married to Cmdr. Mark E. Kelly, a NASA
astronaut and U.S. Navy pilot.

“I ask all Americans to join me and Michelle in keeping all the victims and their families, including Gabby, in our thoughts and prayers,” said President Barack Obama in a statement today at the White House. Watch here:



“We are shocked and saddened by the events involving Congresswoman Giffords and our hearts go out to her and the other victims of this awful tragedy, said HRC President Joe Solmonese.

“Gabby Giffords is a champion for LGBT equality and a principled leader for Arizona. We wish her a speedy recovery as our thoughts and prayers are with her family as well as with the families of all of those touched by today’s horrific violence,” Solmonese said.

House Speaker John Boehner condemned the attack.

“An attack on one who serves is an attack on all who serve,” Boehner said in a statement. “Acts and threats of violence against public officials have no place in our society.”

Giffords’ Tucson office was one of three damaged last March by vandals who targeted Democrats in advance of the U.S. House vote on President Obama’s controversial health care legislation.

Following the vote, Giffords landed a place on Sarah Palin’s infamous “crosshairs” map, which targeted legislators who voted for the health care bill. The map was criticized as an incitement to violence, and as of Saturday afternoon, is still posted to Palin’s Facebook page.

Giffords was one of at least 10 House members who had raised concerns about their personal security following the healthcare vote, although there’s no indication at this time that the gunman who shot Giffords was motivated by politics.

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Arizona Shooter Explained Mind Control on YouTube

The gunman who shot Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and 17 others in Arizona this morning has been identified as 22-year-old Jared Loughner. He uploaded a number of strange videos to YouTube expressing convoluted philosophical and political views. And he hates Giffords.
Here's what we know so far:

• According to his YouTube page, Loughner graduated from Mountain View High School and attended Northwest Aztec Middle College and Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona.
• 
  
• Catie Parker claims to have been in a band with Loughner, as well as his high school and college classmate. In a Twitter exchange with Anthony De Rosa, she said that when she knew Loughner he was a radical liberal, a "loner" and "very philosophical: "He was a political radical and met Giffords once before in '07, asked her a question and he told me she was 'stupid and unintelligent.' He was a pot head & into rock like Hendrix, The Doors, Anti-Flag.... As I knew him he was left wing, quite liberal and oddly obsessed with the 2012 prophecy."
  Parker says Loughner dropped out of school after getting alcohol poisoning in '06.
  
• 
  
• In one YouTube video, Loughner claims to be a military recruit at the Phoenix, Arizona Military Entrance Processing Station.
• 
  
  
• About those YouTube videos: They are very strange. All of Loughners videos feature only long passages of text which express quasi-political beliefs that could broadly be called anti government. He writes, "If the property owners and government officials are no longer in ownership of their land and laws from a revolution then the revolutionary's (sic) from the revolution are in control of the land and laws." Loughners main gist in his videos is that people will be freed through the development of a "new currency," whatever that is. His strange insistence on proper grammar is belied by his own horrible writing, and his one favorited video features a guy lighting an American flag on fire.
• 
  
• Laughner's now-defunct Myspace page, with his last status update, via Animal New York: "Please don't be mad at me."
• Loughner posted this picture of a handgun, possibly the one used in the shooting, on a copy of "united states history"
  
• Via Hunter Walker, on March of 2010, Loughner was photographed by the Arizona Star at a book fair at Pima Community College.
• 
  [Image via Loughner's defunct MySpace page]
  

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