Gabrielle Giffords shot: Congresswoman fighting for life in Arizona, gunman identified as Jared Loughner

A Congresswoman has been shot in the head after a man went on a gun rampage at a grocery store in Arizona, killing six and wounding a further 12.

Gabrielle Giffords was outside Safeway grocery store in Tucson, Arizona, when a gunman identified as Jared Lee Loughner - struck.

Witnesses said he walked calmly up to Mrs Giffords and fired at point blank range. Doctors said the bullet went 'through and through'.

Loughner then fired 15-20 shots into the crowd, witnesses said.

A spokesman for the Pima County Sheriff's Department said that six are dead and 12 more wounded. A U.S. Marshal told the AP that federal judge John Roll was among the dead.

A young girl was killed in the rampage. It was unclear if she was nine years or nine months old. The AP reported that an aide to Mrs Giffords also died in the attack.

Incredibly, this afteoon the doctor operating on Mrs Giffords said she had survived the surgery and that he was 'very optimistic' for her recovery.

See the bizarre video posted to YouTube by the suspected gunman below

'Unspeakable tragedy': U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, space shuttle astronaut Mark Kelly, in an undated photo. Mrs Giffords is fighting for her life in an Arizona hospital after being shot in the head at point blank range

Suspect: Left, an image taken from a MySpace page in the name of Jared Loughner, which has since been removed. Right, another image from the MySpace page in Loughner's name appears to show a Glock resting atop a U.S. history book

 

Race against time: One of the victims from the shooting is rushed to a medical helicopter

Manhunt: Armed police search for the gunman in the parking lot of the Safeway where the shooting took place. Police said the man has been arrested, while AP sources identified him as Jared Laughner

Every second counts: Another victim is rushed to a medical helicopter

'She's in critical condition,' Dr Peter Rhee said. 'The neurosurgeons have finished operating on her and I can tell you that in the current time period I am very optimistic about recovery ... she was following commands.'

There were early reports that Mrs Giffords, an Arizona Democrat, was killed in the shooting, but those were later refuted.

A doctor told CNN that Mrs Giffords had been shot in the head 'through and through'.

U.S. Capitol Police say the shooter is in custody in Arizona. NPR claimed he had tried to run away but was tackled by a bystander. CNN described him as a white male bo in 1988.

Unbearable: A woman covers her mouth in horror as another victim is evacuated from the Safeway shooting

'Americans, come together': President Barack Obama delivers a statement on the shootings today

A Facebook page in the name of a Jared Loughner who lives in Tucson, Arizona was taken down just seconds after he was identified in the press.

Five bizarre videos, one of which is seen below, were posted in his name to YouTube on December 15.

In the videos, which mostly consist of text flashing up on the screen, Loughner talks of introducing a 'new currency' and says his favourite activity is 'conscience dreaming'.

'In conclusion,' he said in the video linked below, 'my ambition – is for informing literate dreamers about a new currency; in a few days, you know I’m conscience dreaming! Thank you!'

In a second video, he describes himself as defining 'terrorist'.

'If I define terrorist then a terrorist is a person who employs terror or terrorism especially as a political weapon,' the text in the video - entitled 'My Final Thoughts - Jared Lee Loughner!' - reads.

'I define terrorist.

'Thus, a terrorist is a person who employs terror or terrorism, especially as a political weapon.

Every scene tued deadly: Police and emergency personnel outside the shopping centre in Tucson where the shooting took place today

Reeling: A man comforts a woman in the parking lot of the Safeway where Mrs Giffords was holding the Congress on the Coer when the shooting took place

'If you call me a terrorist then the argument to call me a terrorist is Ad hominem.

'You call me a terrorist.

'Thus, the argument to call me a terrorist is Ad hominem.'

A 9mm Glock handgun with an extended magazine was found at the scene. Earlier, one official told the AP that the attack had been carried out with an automatic weapon.

There is continuing confusion this afteoon over the exact number of people killed and wounded in the shooting. This afteoon the hospital said five victims are still in surgery while another five are in critical condition.

Police were waing other lawmakers to 'take reasonable precautions'.

This afteoon Mr Obama held a press conference at which he urged Americans to come together and pray for the victims of the shooting.

Tragedy: Left, House Speaker John Boehner re-enacts the swearing in of Gabrielle Giffords on Capitol Hill in Washington, just three days ago. Right, Mrs Giffords talks with army personnel in July 2010. The Congresswoman was known for cracking down on immigration

The President said that 'at least five' people had died, including Judge Roll and, he said, a nine-year-old girl.

'We don't know yet what provoked this unspeakable act,' he said, adding that he has sent FBI director Bob Mueller to Arizona.

'Gabby Giffords was a friend of mine,' he said, describing the Congresswoman as 'warm, caring, and well-liked by her colleagues'.

'Her husband is a Navy Captain and one of America’s valiant astronauts,' Mr Obama said.

Mrs Giffords had been in Tucson 'listening to the hopes and conces of her neighbours - the essence of what our democracy is about,' he said.

'That is why this is more than a tragedy for those involved... It is a national tragedy.

Red alert: A K9 unit arrives at the scene of the shooting

Horror: Shocked people gather at the scene of the gun rampage today. A man is said to be in custody

Unbelievable shock: People talk at the scene of the shooting in Tucson today. Up to 18 people appear to have been shot in total

'What Americans do in times of tragedy is come together and support each other so I ask all Americans to join me and Michelle... to keep the victims in our prayers.

'Gabby is as tough as they come and I am hopeful she will pull through... We are going to get to the bottom of this and we are going to get through this.'

Arizona Goveor Jan Brewer broke down in tears as she held a press conference on the shooting, describing Mrs Giffords as a 'friend'. She described the shooting as Arizona's 'worst nightmare'.

She said that all flags in Arizona are set to be flown at half-mast.

Mrs Giffords was first elected to the House in 2006 and represents the state's 8th Congressional District. She was taken to the University Medical Center Hospital after the incident.

According to MSNBC, the gunman ran into a 'crowded area' and began 'firing indiscriminately'.

Mrs Giffords was apparently talking to a couple when the suspect ran up and shot her at point blank range. According to other witnesses, he was tackled by a bystander and taken into custody.

Jason Pekau, a Sprint employee who works near Safeway, told CNN: 'I see two bodies laying on the sidewalk in front of the Safeway.'

Three emergency evacuation helicopters were sent to the scene.

Mrs Giffords has been a congresswoman for Arizona since January 3, 2007.

She was previously a legislator for the Arizona House of Representatives from 2001 to 2003.

The 40-year-old politician, who has worked for Price Waterhouse in New York, has been married to U.S. Navy Captain and astronaut Mark E Kelly since 2007. Captain Kelly has piloted space shuttles Endeavour and Discovery.

The two met in China in 2003 while they were serving on a committee there, and were married in January 2007. They have two children.

House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner issued the following statement about the shooting: 'I am horrified by the senseless attack on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and members of her staff.

'An attack on one who serves is an attack on all who serve. Acts and threats of violence against public officials have no place in our society.

'Our prayers are with Congresswoman Giffords, her staff, all who were injured, and their families. This is a sad day for our country.'

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called the shooting a 'national tragedy'.

'Today is a very sad day for our country,' she said in a statement.

'My prayers, and the prayers of all Members of Congress, go out to her husband, Captain Mark Kelly, their family, and to all of the staff and others who were victims of this horrible attack.'

Sarah Palin also issued a statement, saying: 'My sincere condolences are offered to the family of Gabrielle Giffords and the other victims of today's tragic shooting in Arizona.

'On behalf of Todd and my family, we all pray for the victims and their families, and for peace and justice.'

The shooting comes amid a highly charged political environment that has seen several dangerous threats against lawmakers but nothing that reached the point of actual violence.

A San Francisco man upset with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's support of health care reform pleaded guilty to threatening the Democratic congresswoman and her family, calling her directly on March 25 and threatening to destroy her Northe Califoia home if she voted for health care reform.

The shooting took place in Tucson, Arizona

In July, a Califoia man known for his anger over left-leaning politics engaged in a shootout with highway patrol officers after planning an attack on the American Civil Liberties Union and another nonprofit group.

The man said he wanted to 'start a revolution' by killing people at the ACLU and the Tides Foundation.

Mrs Giffords, a moderate Democrat, herself has drawn the ire of the right, especially for her support of the health care bill.

Her Tucson office was vandlised a few hours after the House vote to approve the health care law in March, with someone either kicking or shooting out a glass door and window.

See the bizarre YouTube video left in the gun suspect's name here