Suspect in court today
Posted January 9, 2011 4:31 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TUCSON, Ariz. – The man accused of killing six people and injuring 14 others at an Arizona political gathering is expected to appear in a federal court in Phoenix today.
Twenty-two-year-old Jared Loughner faces a slew of charges, including killing an Arizona judge and shooting U-S Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in the head.
Doctors hope to learn more today about the condition of the critically wounded congresswoman, who is said to be responding to some commands.
U-S President Barack Obama has called on Americans to observe a moment of silence today at 11 a.m. EST to honour victims of the Arizona shooting.
The White House says this will allow people to come together, in prayer or reflection, and keep the victims and their families close at heart.
Obama will observe the moment with White House staff on the South Lawn.
The president has signed a proclamation calling for flags to be flown at half-mast.
Investigators searched the home of Loughner’s parents yesterday and found an envelope in a safe with the words “I planned ahead.”
The words ”my assassination“ and the name ”Giffords“ also appeared next to what is believed to be Loughner’s signature.
Authorities believe he acted alone.
The Canadian government has offered condolences to the victims of a deadly shooting in Arizona that targeted a Democrat lawmaker.
Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon says he wishes a speedy recovery for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who suffered a severe head injury.
Six people were killed and 13 others were wounded in the melee. Cannon said yesterday Canada stands by the people of the United States in its time of grief.
He added that an attack against a democratically elected official is an attack on democracy itself.
When the shooting occurred, three people helped subdue the gunman. Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik says Patricia Maisch was waiting in line with her husband to get a photo with Giffords.
When the shooting started, she ran to the suspect and grabbed the empty magazine, then grabbed a full magazine as he was loading it into the gun.
Two men also helped subdue the suspect.
Court documents actually show Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and the man accused of shooting her had contact in the past.
Authorities say they have a letter addressed to Jared Loughner him on Giffords’ congressional stationery.
On it, she thanked him for attending a “Congress on your Corner” event at a mall in Tucson in 2007.
Giffords was shot at her first “Congress on your Corner” event with constituents of the new year.
In a related story, an unidentified man who authorities earlier said might have acted as an accomplice has been cleared of any involvement in the attack.
A search began after a security camera captured an image of a man with Loughner shortly before the attack began in Tuscon.
But police now say the man was a cab driver who walked into the grocery store with Loughner because the driver didn’t have enough change.
The shooting occurred just after the two exchanged money.
Also – the 9 year old girl that was shot and killed – Christina Taylor Green – was already an aspiring politician with hopes of being the first woman to play major league baseball.
She had just been elected to the student council at Tucson’s Mesa Verde Elementary School and was interested in politics from a young age.
Born on September 11, 2001, the third-grader was among six people killed Saturday outside a supermarket where a neighbour had taken her to meet Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
Christina’s dad is a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers and her grandfather, Dallas Green, managed the 1980 world champion Philadelphia Phillies.
