For once, let's save a thread from mindless party babble and respect what's happened.
:thumbsup:
She is apparently not dead.
U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, an Arizona Democrat, and other people were shot at an event today in Tucson, according to broadcast reports. There were conflicting reports about whether Giffords was killed.
National Public Radio and CNN reported Giffords and six other people died. Politico.com later quoted C.J. Karamargin, a spokesman for Giffords, as saying the congresswoman had survived. The Associated Press reported she was hospitalized in critical condition.
The network cited an unidentified person at the Pima County, Arizona, sheriff’s office. At least three other people, including some of her staff members, were injured, NPR said. CNN said the suspect in the shootings is in custody.
Two people were hospitalized in stable condition at Northwest Medical Center in Tucson, said Kim Chimene, a spokeswoman for the hospital.
She said the two patients were shot at a public event in a Safeway parking lot earlier today. She said she could not identify the patients by name or their genders.
The congresswoman was holding a “Congress On Your Corner” event at a Safeway grocery store when a gunman appeared and started shooting, NPR said.
A witness at the event told CNN 15 to 20 shots were fired. The witness, Jason Pekau, an employee at a Sprint store near the shooting, said there were two to three bodies on the ground after the shooting, CNN reported.
Representative Giffords, 40, was first elected in 2006 from Arizona’s 8th Congressional district, which includes a 114-mile (183-kilometer) border with Mexico.
She previously served in the Arizona Legislature and was chief executive officer of her family’s tire and automotive business.
Giffords is married to Mark Kelly, a U.S. Navy pilot and NASA astronaut and is the only congresswoman with a military spouse on active duty.
-With assistance from Shobhana Chandra in Washington. Editors: Mark Rohner, Chris Thompson