Surgeons say Giffords showing positive signs
TUCSON, AZ
Surgeons said a bullet went through Giffords' head on the left
side of the brain, but she is still able to respond nonverbally to
commands such as squeezing a hand or showing two fingers. They
credited several reasons for her survival, including good luck and
the fact that paramedics got her to surgeons quickly -- in under 40
minutes.
"This is about as good as it is going to get," said Dr. Peter
Rhee, a trauma surgeon. "When you get shot in the head and the
bullet goes through your brain, the chances of you living is very
small and the chances of you waking up and actually following
commands is even much smaller than that. Hopefully it will stay
that way."
Surgeons worked to reduce pressure from swelling in her head by
removing bone fragments, and they also removed a small amount of
badly damaged brain. Giffords cannot speak because she is on a
ventilator.
Dr. Michael Lemole of the University Medical Center in Tucson
would not speculate on her degree of recovery. "We talk about
recovery in months to years," he said.
The medical prognosis came as authorities investigated the
motivation of a gunman in an attempted assassination of the
three-term Democrat and the killing of six people, including a
federal judge, an aide to Giffords and a 9-year-old girl who was
born on Sept. 11, 2001.
Mourners crammed into the tiny sanctuary of Giffords' synagogue
in Tucson to pray that she quickly recovered. Outside the hospital,
candles flickered at a makeshift memorial. Signs read "Peace +
love are stronger," "God bless America and "We love you,
Gabrielle." People also laid down bouquets of flowers, American
flags and pictures of Giffords.
Police say the shooter was in custody, and was identified by the
FBI as Jared Loughner, 22. He was described by friends as a
pot-smoking loner who was rejected by the Army when he tried to
enlist in 2008. He dropped out of a local community college after
having five contacts with campus police for classroom and library
disruptions last year.
His motivation was not immediately known, but Pima County
Sheriff Clarence Dupnik described him as mentally unstable and
possibly acting with an accomplice.
Authorities said Giffords, 40, was targeted at a public
gathering by a man with a semiautomatic weapon around 10 a.m.
Saturday outside a busy Tucson supermarket. Fourteen people were
injured.
He also fired at her district director and shot indiscriminately
at staffers and others standing in line to talk to the
congresswoman, said Mark Kimble, a communications staffer for
Giffords.
"He was not more than three or four feet from the congresswoman
and the district director," Kimble said, describing the scene as
"just complete chaos, people screaming, crying."
One of the victims was Christina-Taylor Green, who was a member
of the student council at her local school and went to the event
because of her interest in government. She is the grandaughter of
former Philadelphia Phillies manager Dallas Green.
She was born on 9/11 and featured in a book called "Faces of
Hope" that chronicled one baby from each state born on the day
terrorists killed nearly 3,000 people.
The fact that Christina's life ended in tragedy was especially
tragic to those who knew her. "Tragedy seems to have happened
again," said the author of the book, Christine Naman. "In the
form of this awful event."
Authorities said the dead included U.S. District Judge John M.
Roll; Greene; Giffords aide Gabe Zimmerman, 30; Dorothy Morris, 76;
Dorwin Stoddard, 76; and Phyllis Scheck, 79. Judge Roll had just
stopped by to see his friend Giffords after attending Mass.
His office said a man possibly associated with Loughner
(pronounced LAWF'-ner) who was near the scene was being sought. Law
enforcement released an image of a man photographed by a security
camera at the Safeway store. He was described as white with dark
hair and 40-45 years old.
FBI Director Robert Mueller said Loughner bought the Glock 9-mm
handgun last year.
In one of several YouTube videos, which featured text against a
dark background, Loughner described inventing a new U.S. currency
and complained about the illiteracy rate among people living in
Giffords' congressional district in Arizona.
"I know who's listening: Government Officials, and the
People," Loughner wrote. "Nearly all the people, who don't know
this accurate information of a new currency, aren't aware of mind
control and brainwash methods. If I have my civil rights, then this
message wouldn't have happen (sic)."
In Loughner's middle-class neighborhood -- about a five-minute
drive from the scene -- sheriff's deputies had much of the street
blocked off. The neighborhood sits just off a bustling Tucson
street and is lined with desert landscaping and palm trees.
Neighbors said Loughner lived with his parents and kept to
himself. He was often seen walking his dog, almost always wearing a
hooded sweat shirt and listening to his iPod.
The assassination attempt left Americans questioning whether
divisive politics had pushed the suspect over the edge.
Giffords faced frequent backlash from the right over her support
of the health care reform last year, and had her office vandalized
the day the House approved the landmark measure.
When asked if Loughner had any contact with Giffords in the
past, Mueller said the alleged gunman attended a similar event
three years ago.
Dupnik lashed out at what he called an excessively "vitriolic"
atmosphere in the months leading up to the rampage as he described
the chaos of the day.
The sheriff said the rampage ended only after two people tackled
the gunman. A third person intervened and tried to pull a clip away
from Loughner as he attempted to reload, the sheriff said.
"He was definitely on a mission," according to event volunteer
Alex Villec, former Giffords intern.
Giffords expressed similar concern about the political
atmosphere, even before the shooting. In an interview after her
office was vandalized, she referred to the animosity against her by
conservatives, including Sarah Palin's decision to list Giffords'
seat as one of the top "targets" in the midterm elections.
"For example, we're on Sarah Palin's targeted list, but the
thing is, that the way that she has it depicted has the crosshairs
of a gun sight over our district. When people do that, they have to
realize that there are consequences to that action," Giffords said
in an interview with MSNBC.
In the hours after the shooting, Palin issued a statement in
which she expressed her "sincere condolences" to the family of
Giffords and the other victims.
A shaken President Barack Obama called the attack "a tragedy
for our entire country."
Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement Sunday that FBI
Director Robert Mueller was traveling to Arizona to help coordinate
the investigation.
In a brief statement Sunday morning, House Speaker John Boehner
said flags on the House side of the Capitol in Washington will be
flown at half staff to honor Giffords' slain aide, Gabe Zimmerman.
Boehner says normal House business this week is postponed to focus
on any necessary actions in the shooting aftermath.