On January 8, 2011, U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords and eighteen other people were shot during a public meeting held in a supermarket parking lot in Casas Adobes, near Tucson, Arizona. Six of those shot died, including Arizona District Court Chief Judge John Roll, one of Rep. Giffords' staffers, and a nine-year-old child.[2][5][6][7][8]
Giffords was holding a constituent 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, subsequently firing on other people.[5][6] One additional person was injured in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.[3][9] News reports identified the target of the attack as Giffords, a Democrat representing Arizona's 8th congressional district.[5] She was shot through the head[9] at point-blank range,[10] and her medical condition was initially described as "critical".[5][6]
Loughner, a 22-year-old Tucson man, was arrested at the scene.[4] Federal prosecutors filed five charges against him, including the attempted assassination of a member of Congress and the assassination of a federal judge.[7][11][12] Court filings include notes allegedly handwritten by Loughner indicating he planned to assassinate Giffords.[11] The motive for the shooting remains unclear; Loughner did not cooperate with authorities, invoking his right to remain silent.[6] Loughner was found by a judge to be incompetent to stand trial based on two medical evaluations.[13]

he shooting took place on January 8, 2011, at 10:10 am MST (17:10 UTC).[1][14] A United States Representative from Arizona, Gabrielle Giffords, was holding a constituent meeting called "Congress on Your Corner"[12][15] at the Safeway supermarket in La Toscana Village mall, which is in Casas Adobes, an unincorporated area north of Tucson, Arizona.[16] Giffords had set up a table outside the store and about 20 to 30 people were gathered around her when Jared Lee Loughner drew a pistol and shot Giffords in the head.[17][18][19] The shooting was caught on video by a store security camera.[14][20]
Loughner allegedly proceeded to fire apparently randomly at other members of the crowd.[2][21] The weapon used was reported to be a 9mm Glock 19 semi-automatic pistol with a 33-round magazine.[22][23] A nearby store employee said he heard "15 to 20 gunshots".[24] After the gunman ran out of ammunition in the first magazine, he stopped to reload, but dropped the loaded magazine from his pocket to the sidewalk, from where bystander Patricia Maisch grabbed it.[25] Another bystander clubbed the back of the assailant's head with a folding chair, injuring his elbow in the process, representing the 20th injury.[26] The gunman was then tackled to the ground by 74-year-old retired US Army Colonel Bill Badger,[27] who himself had been shot, and was further subdued by Maisch and bystanders Roger Sulzgeber and Joseph Zamudio.


The first call from the scene to emergency services was received at 10:11 am.[1] While waiting for help to arrive, Giffords' intern Daniel Hernndez, Jr. applied pressure to the gunshot wound on her forehead, and made sure she did not choke on her blood. Hernndez was credited with saving Giffords' life.[29][30][31] David and Nancy Bowman, a married doctor and nurse who were shopping in the store, immediately set up triage and attended to nine-year-old Christina-Taylor Green.[8] Police arrived on the scene at 10:15 am, with paramedics arriving at 10:16 am.[32] Badger observed the assailant attempting to discard a small bag containing money and identification, which was recovered by the officers.[33] Following the shooting, the roads surrounding the shopping center were shut down until late in the day. The intersection was cordoned off and most of the businesses in the shopping center were closed throughout the weekend during the initial investigation.[34] The Safeway store reopened a week later, with a makeshift memorial erected near the front of the store.[35]

Gabrielle Giffords was reported to be the target of the shootings.[5] Some news organizations initially reported that she had been killed, but these statements were quickly revised to reflect that she had survived with a gunshot wound to the head.[42][43] Daniel Hernandez Jr., an intern to U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, assisted Giffords after she was wounded and is credited with saving her life.[44][45][46] Giffords was taken to University Medical Center in critical condition,[2][47] though she was still conscious. Within 38 minutes,[48] Giffords underwent emergency surgery,[49] and part of her skull was removed to prevent further brain damage caused by swelling.[48] She was placed into a medically-induced coma to allow her brain to rest.[50] During a memorial ceremony on January 12, President Barack Obama announced that earlier that day Giffords had opened her eyes for the first time since the attack.[51]
As Giffords' status improved, she began simple physical therapy.[52] On January 21, less than two weeks after the attack, her condition was deemed sufficiently stable for her to be released to Houston's Memorial Hermann Medical Center. A few days later she was moved to the center's Institute for Rehabilitation and Research to undergo a program of physical therapy and rehabilitation.[53][54] After examination, her Houston doctors were optimistic, saying she has "great rehabilitation potential".[55] Medical experts expect Giffords' recovery to take from several months to more than one year.[56]
On August 1, she made her first public appearance on the House floor to vote in favor of raising the debt limit ceiling. She was met with a standing ovation and accolades from her fellow members of Congress.[57] Giffords engaged in intensive rehabilitation treatments in Asheville, North Carolina from October 25 through November 4.[58] In Kelly's memoir, Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope, released in November 2011, he reports that Giffords vows to return to Congress, although she continues to struggle with language and has lost 50 percent of her vision in both eyes.[