Federal Murder Charges Filed in Giffords Shooting Case

by: Tony Pugh  |  McClatchy Newspapers | Report

Federal Murder Charges Filed in Giffords Shooting Case
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Arizona) meets with Tucson seniors while campaigning in October 2008. (Photo: kevin.asher)

A 22-year-old man was formally charged Sunday with two counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder in a shooting rampage that killed six people and critically wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

Jared Lee Loughner, of Tucson, Ariz., is in federal custody. He'll go before a federal magistrate on Monday and could face additional state and federal charges, including domestic terrorism.

Loughner came to a meet-and-greet event Giffords was hosting at a local supermarket on Saturday morning and shot her at close range through her left temple. He then began firing indiscriminately into the crowd.

Five victims died at the scene, including 63-year-old Chief Judge John Roll of the U.S. District Court for Arizona and 30-year-old Gabe Zimmerman, who worked for Giffords. Dorothy Morris, 76 and Phyllis Scheck, 79, were also killed along with 76-year-old Dorwin Stoddard, who was shot in the head while protecting his wife.

Do you like this? Click here to get Truthout stories sent to your inbox every day - free.

The final victim, 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green, died later at the hospital. She was born on Sept. 11, 2001.

A search of Loughner's home turned up a letter that Giffords wrote to Loughner in 2007 thanking him for attending a similar meet-and-greet.

Giffords, who underwent surgery on Saturday, remains in critical condition and communicates with doctors by responding to simple commands, said Dr. Michael Lemole Jr., the chief of neurosurgery at University Medical Center in Tuscon.

He's "cautiously optimistic" about Giffords's chances of survival. President Barack Obama asked the to country take a moment of silence at 11 a.m. Monday to honor victims of the shooting, and the House of Representatives plans to pay tribute Wednesday to Giffords and the other victims. 

All republished content that appears on Truthout has been obtained by permission or license.





     

»




Comments

This forum is moderated by software. Please allow up to 15 minutes for your comments to go live and avoid posting the same comment multiple times.



I assume there are Federal

I assume there are Federal charges since a Federal judge is dead and Congresswoman injured, but 2 counts of murder? What don't I understand?



Charges should also be filed

Charges should also be filed against Sarah Palin for incitement of violence.

And against Sharron Angle, Rupert Murdoch, Glenn Beck, and many others . . .



This did not happen in a

This did not happen in a vacuum. The right has been fanning the flames for quite a while.



If W had not allowed

If W had not allowed Clinton's assault weapons ban to expire, this nutcase would not have been able to purchase a high-capacity magazine, and fewer people would now be dead and injured.



"Last year, [Arizona] got 2

"Last year, [Arizona] got 2 points out of a possible 100 in the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence state score card, avoiding a zero only because its Legislature has not--so far--voted to force colleges to let people bring their guns on campuses."

--NYT



i sent contributed to the

i sent contributed to the Brady Campaign. We should put our money where our mouth is.