Tucson shooting of 2011 was a mass shooting in which a gunman attempted to assassinate United States Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords . The attack took place on Jan. 8, 2011, outside a grocery store in Tucson , Arizona.
The attack.
Giffords was hosting a “Congress on Your Corner” event in front of a supermarket in northwestern Tucson. Shortly after 10 a.m., a man walked up to Giffords and shot her in the head. The shooter, armed with a semiautomatic handgun, then began firing into the crowd. Nineteen people were shot. Six people died: John M. Roll, a federal judge; Gabe Zimmerman, a Giffords aide; Christina Taylor Green, a 9-year-old girl; Dorothy Morris; Phyllis Schneck; and Dorwan Stoddard. Giffords survived the attack but needed lengthy rehabilitation. Giffords resigned her seat in Congress in January 2012 to focus on her recovery.
Attendees of the event subdued the gunman before officers from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department arrived and arrested him. Police identified 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner as the shooter.
Investigations and aftermath.
Some law enforcement officials described the attack against Giffords, a Democrat, as politically motivated. In a number of Internet messages, Loughner had posted antigovernment comments. Some comments appeared to have been influenced by ideas popular with extreme right-wing groups. But most experts agreed that Loughner’s writings showed a variety of influences and that his comments displayed signs of mental illness.
In March 2011, federal prosecutors charged Loughner with 49 counts related to the shooting. Loughner pleaded not guilty to the charges. In May, a federal judge ruled that Loughner was mentally ill and unfit to stand trial. In August 2012, however, a judge declared Loughner competent to stand trial. Loughner pleaded guilty to 19 counts, including murder and attempted murder. In November, a federal judge sentenced Loughner to seven consecutive life sentences, plus 140 years, in federal prison.
See also Giffords, Gabrielle .
