Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was making an appearance at a
Safeway shopping center in north Tucson this morning when a young gunman walked
up and shot her in the head at close range.
The Pima County sheriff's office
stated that the 40-year-old Democrat has died, but the hospital is saying she
is in surgery in critical condition.
At least five others may be dead, and as
many as dozen people were reported shot. Media accounts continue, depending on
the sources. A suspected shooter is in custody, described by as in his late
teens or early 20s.
Giffords had been reelected to a third term from Arizona's 8th district in November. She is married to NASA astronaut Mark Kelly and they have two children.
