The Associated Press
TUCSON, Ariz. — Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head today when an assailant opened fire in an area where the lawmaker was meeting with constituents, officials said.
Giffords is out of surgery and one of her surgeons said, “I’m very optimistic about her recovery.”
“She was shot one time in the head through and through,” Dr. Peter Rhee said at an afternoon news conference at University Medical Center in Tucson.
The bullet entered one side of her head and exited the other after passing through her brain, Rhee said.
Neurosurgeons had finished operating on Giffords and she was under anesthesia, Rhee said. She was being taken to intensive care. Rhee said he would know better in 24 hours what the prognosis is. He said the congresswoman was following commands, a good sign, he said.
Arizona law enforcement official say a gunman, identified as Jered Loughner, 22, shot Giffords. Loughner is in custody.
Six others have been killed and 18 wounded following the shooting at a Safeway in northwest Tucson, according to Deputy Richard Kastigar of the Pima County Sheriff’s Office.
NBC reports that a Federal Judge John Roll was among those killed, according to “several law enforcement sources.” Another victim was a 9-year-old child.
“I am horrified by the senseless attack on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and members of her staff,” newly elected House Speaker John Boehner said. “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.”
They said the FBI and local law enforcement were investigating the attack.
Giffords, the wife of an astronaut, was re-elected to her third term last November. She was a member of the Arizona House and Senate before coming to Washington.
Giffords was elected to Congress amid a wave of Democratic victories in the 2006 election. The former state lawmaker won a narrow victory against a tea party favorite in the 2010 election.
Giffords has drawn the ire of the right, especially for her support of the health care bill.
Her Tucson office was vandalized a few hours after the House vote to approve the health care law in March, with someone either kicking or shooting out a glass door and window.
