Breaking News: Congresswoman Among Those Shot, Reportedly Killed at Public Event
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and six others died after a gunman opened fire at a public event on Saturday, the Pima County, Ariz., sheriff's office confirms. The 40-year-old Democrat was outside a Tucson grocery store when a gunman ran up and began firing indiscriminately. The suspect was taken into police custody.
U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head and killed outside a grocery store in Tucson while holding a public event, Arizona Public Media reported Saturday.
The 40-year-old Democrat, who was re-elected to her third term in November, was hosting a "Congress on Your Corner" event at a Safeway in northwest Tucson when a gunman ran up and started shooting, according to Peter Michaels, news director of Arizona Public Media.
Other news outlets are reporting the shooting, but as of 2:15pm ET, NPR and Reuters are the only two I can see that have reported that Giffords has died. The suspect was reportedly detained by bystanders and is now in custody.
MORE: There are now reports both confirming and contradicting the early reports of Giffords death.
MORE: A surgeon at one local hospital has confirmed at a press conference that Giffords is still alive, and that he is "very optimistic" about her recovery. Great news for her and her family. He also confirmed that there were other fatalities, and that at least five people at his hospital are in critical condition. He also confirmed that a nine-year-old girl shot at the event died at the hospital. I'm going to stop the updates for now. Feel free to post links to new developments in the comments.