"Ohmygod Giffords was shot and killed!"

I was reading the Yahoo! news at noon when the headlines "Congresswoman Giffords shot and killed in Tucson" came across the screen. I screamed and ran into the kitchen where Kevin was, to tell him the news. Even he was stunned. Who would kill Giffords? She is not a controversial stateswoman like some others in the Tea Party are. I broke down and cried. I haven't cried over political events since 911, and before that when GWB got declared the election winner in 2000. My first suspicions were that the killer was a disgruntled Tea Party member or a Jesse Kelly supporter(her opponent who narrowly lost last November) and an NRA nut. I turned on the TV and for two hours KVOA kept feeding updates.

The news of Giffords death. however, was premature. I had overreacted to what Yahoo! and KVOA had falsely reported. I even cried out about that on my Facebook page.

The news got better, it seemed, every ten minutes when finally a trauma doctor, Dr Rhee, came to tell the press Giffords was alive and in surgery for a "through and through" single gunshot to the head. It was true that one 9-year-old child had died as well as a federal judge. Giffords and her staff were at a Safeway store at 10am in NW Tucson to speak to voters during one of her many open-air meetings.

I was glued to the TV for most of the afternoon, getting nothing done. She is now out of surgery but now we must worry about her brain swelling. I am over the shock of such a heinous crime, but I am not over the shock that the attempted killer is a 22-year-old white community college student, Jared Lee Loughner, who raved about Sarah Palin and the Tea Party. I've had tears swell up in me all afternoon at the thought of this happening. What is Arizona coming to? We are a state full of bigoted gun-toting Tea Party racists.

I never got to meet Giffords whenever she came to town because she always came when I was either at work or in class. She is MY Congresswoman. I voted for her. She is a fighter for southern Arizonans.

There is a get-well vigil tomorrow night in front of her Tucson office. I plan on being there.
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http://azstarnet.com/news/local/article_88b4b436-1b53-11e0-8354-001cc4c002e0.html

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot point-blank in the head on Saturday at a northwest-side grocery store, but surgeons say they are optimistic about her recovery.

Meanwhile, Gov. Jan Brewer's office is confirming federal Judge John Roll was among the dead, as was Gabe Zimmerman, Giffords' director of community outreach.

Sheriff Clarence Dupnik last night said there were six dead, including a child, as well as 19 injured. The girl slain in the attack was later identified as Christina-Taylor Green, 9. Later, Dorwan Stodder, a church volunteer, was identified as being one of the people killed.

Giffords was in critical condition following surgery at University Medical Center, said Dr. Peter Rhee, a UMC surgeon. The bullet passed cleanly out her brain, exiting her head.

Rhee said she was following commands, which is a good sign.

The shooting occurred at a Safeway supermarket where Giffords was holding one of her regular "Congress on Your Corner" events, which allows her to speak directly with constituents in her district.

The gunman has been identified as 22-year-old Jared Loughner, according to The Associated Press, although Dupnik declined to identify the assailant.