NPR
Law enforcement officials continue to piece together the facts in Saturday's shooting rampage that left a federal judge dead and a congresswoman critically injured in Arizona, and some are questioning whether divisive political rhetoric may have played a role.
At least six people died and at least a dozen were injured in the Saturday morning shooting at a Tucson, Ariz., grocery store parking lot, in which the gunman specifically targeted Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Pima County, Ariz. Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said. Giffords was shot in the head, and the shooting continued until citizens tackled the suspected gunman, he said.
The dead included John Roll, chief judge of the U.S. District Court of Arizona. Also killed was Gabe Zimmerman, 30, the congresswoman's director of community outreach, and a 9-year-old girl. Two other Giffords staffers were injured.
At a news conference Saturday night, a clearly emotional Dupnik, who has been close to both Giffords and Roll, repeatedly cited what he characterized as the "vitriol" that has infected political discourse. He said that his own state has become "the mecca for prejudice and bigotry."
There is reason to believe, he said, that the shooting suspect "may have a mental issue," adding that people like that "are especially susceptible to vitriol."
"That may be free speech, but it's not without consequences," he said.
The suspected gunman was tackled and held by people at the event until police arrived and took him into custody. Law enforcement sources told NPR the suspect was 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner.
The suspect still had ammunition in his weapon when he was tackled, Dupnik said. Law enforcement officials had previous contact with the suspect and he had made threats, the sheriff said.
Giffords, a moderate "Blue Dog" Democrat and gun rights advocate who in November eked out a win for a third term over Tea Party-backed Republican Jesse Kelly, underwent surgery at University Medical Center in Tucson. Hospital Director Pete Rhee said that a bullet had entered and exited the congresswoman's head, but that he was as "optimistic" as he could be in the situation.
There has been a rush to determine what had prompted the massacre in a state that has been roiled by incendiary debate over illegal immigrants and has also become ground zero for those questioning Obama's birthplace.
"It's not a good atmosphere right now, though I'm not saying that's what prompted this," said University of Arizona law professor Andy Silverman, who knew Roll well. "But things in Arizona are very tense, and we've become the incubator for a lot of immigration-related matters and now for the birthers, too."
As information about Loughner began to emerge later in the day — including online videos and comments posted under the same name as the Tucson native and Mountain View High School graduate — those in Arizona and Washington cautioned against jumping to conclusions.
Some online statements attributed to Loughner suggest an obsession with the nation's currency system and with grammar. In one online video posted under Loughner's name, an American flag is burned.
"It has been a difficult time politically for the country, and I'm sure bloggers and others will go crazy laying blame — on gun rights, on Tea Party people — trying to figure out who's fault it is," said Randy Graf, a Republican who served in the state Legislature with Giffords and lost to her in her first run for Congress.
"As we hear more about the alleged shooter, it seems he may be more like a person with problems whom you can't control," said Graf.
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Why in would anyone want to do something like that. I think people get way to worked up over what they believe in. Just let them worry about what they think. I also think its bad how he shot that 9 year old girl.
ReplyDeleteI think people get pushed to this over their limits and this happens. They fail to communicate and let out their stress over a situation, and things end catstrophicly. I agree with squash.. why let yourself get pushed this far? Those people had families and people who loved them. Was it really worth getting a small issue across?
ReplyDeleteWhen I first read this article, I was completely shocked. Why would someone want to kill so many people for their stress over a situation that may not have involved those people. They are much better ways to relieve stress. Killing innocent people is not one of them. According to the article, it was a possiblity that he had a "mental issue". If he had a mental issue than he should have seeked help or counceling much rather than attacking people at a grocery store. I ,too, wonder was it really worth getting a small issue across? He took 17 lives that day. Including a nine year old girl. She could have had successful life and she must have had a family that really cared for her. All 17 of the victims probably did. Who knows what kind of effect it had on their familes and friends.
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ReplyDeleteIt is such a horrible event that an American named Jared Lee Loughner shot 18 people without any reasons. Innocent six people were killed and twelve people were injured. There are two reasons that have played roles to cause this accident. One thing is definitely because of the possession of guns. If Americans want to keep the guns, then they should admit that there will be a few accidents put guns in a bad use. They can't just hope that they will have guns and safety at the same time. The other one is a shameful reaction of Republicans. Of course this shooting may be because of Jared Lee Loughner's mental problem but divisive political rhetoric could be a reason to inspire Jared to do such thing. I don't think it was just because of his mental problem because some people described the situation that the gunman specifically targeted Gabrielle Giffords. If that's true, too much criticism of politicians could be a problem. I think some criticisms are needed, but if it goes more than it should, the public lose the idea easily. Just imagine if your favorite politician blames or criticizes somebody severely, you would probably think that someone is wrong. Also, some people who have mental problem would think it is not a big deal to shoot or kill somebody if their political views are different or being mentioned as if they were bad people. I think both Republicans and Democrats should remember this accident and find the way they should go.
ReplyDeleteI agree with youbin. Here in the U.S you can get guns so easily and everyone has at least one gun at home, but i don't think you need that for safety. there should be laws that you can't buy them just if you walk into the store, you should just get them for a special reason. he took 17 lives away and i'm wondering why nobody saw, that the boy had mental problems ?!, but i'm glad that someone stopped him - especially people that were already shot.
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