There are conflicting reports on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords health status. CNN continues to report Giffords is dead, while MSNBC and other news outlets report she is alive and in surgery.
The following was originally posted today (Jan. 8, 2011) @ 2:27 pm
According to online reports and wire news services, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot and killed during a rally today in Tucson, Arizona. She was 40.
Witnesses say a young man, in his 20s, ran up and shot the congresswoman “point blank in the head” as she spoke to a couple outside a Safeway grocery store around 10 am (1 pm EST).
A witness spoke with Gawker.com:
The man was young, mid-to-late 20s, white clean-shaven with short hair and wearing dark clothing and said nothing during the shooting or while being held down. He didn’t look like a businessman, but more of a “fringe character,” our source said.
12 bystanders were shot, with at least 6 dead. Giffords is married to an astronaut. Jonathan Allen of Politico says that Giffords is involved with immigration and armed services issues.
Giffords was talking to a couple when the suspect ran up firing indiscriminately and then ran off, Michaels said. According to other witnesses, he was tackled by a bystander and taken into custody.
Upon hearing the tragic news, CNN political contributor Donna Brazile tweeted:
