What was gabby giffords shot with

On January 8, , Gabrielle Giffords, a U. Six people died in the attack and another 13, including Giffords, were wounded. The gunman, year-old Jared Lee Loughner, was taken into custody at the scene.

Giffords, an Arizona native and Democrat who was elected to the U. House of Representatives in , arrived at the Casas Adobes Safeway store at 10 a. The popular politician, just the third woman from Arizona ever elected to Congress, sat outside at a table, speaking with constituents who had lined up to see her. Ten minutes later, Loughner, an Arizona resident, approached the year-old Giffords and shot her at point-blank range with a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol.

He then opened fire on the people standing in line. A short time later, while Loughner attempted to reload his gun, bystanders tackled him and held him until police arrived. Giffords, who was hit with a bullet that fractured her skull and pierced the left side of her brain, was transported to a Tucson hospital.

Some early news reports claimed she had not survived the shooting. Rather than complying, Loughner dropped out of college.

On January 12, , President Barack Obama spoke at a large public memorial service in Tucson for the victims of the shooting spree. Later that month, Giffords was transferred to a rehabilitation hospital in Houston, Texas , where she would relearn how to walk and talk. Also in late January, Loughner pleaded not guilty to a series of federal charges against him, including the attempted assassination of a congressional member. In March, he pleaded not guilty to an additional 49 counts stemming from the shootings.

That May, Giffords traveled from the hospital in Houston to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to watch the launch of the final flight of space shuttle Endeavour, commanded by her husband, astronaut Mark Kelley. The following month, the congresswoman was released from the rehab hospital and began outpatient treatment.

On August 1, she made a surprise return to the floor of the U. During the interview, the congresswoman appeared upbeat but had difficulty forming complete sentences. On January 25, , Giffords resigned from Congress in order to concentrate on her continuing recovery. In August of that same year, Loughner pleaded guilty to 19 of the crimes he was charged with, including killing six people.

As part of the plea agreement, federal prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty against him. Mark Kelly, was protected during the assault on the Capitol building. The riot left four people dead and forced Congress to evacuate. I love you, sweetie. Giffords, 50, was shot at point blank range on Jan. The former U. House representative from Arizona has since become a gun control advocate after her remarkable recovery in which she had to learn how to talk and walk again.

She made a dramatic return to Congress in August to vote on a bill before ultimately resigning in to focus on her recovery. They document the shooting outside Tucson that left six people dead and 13 wounded, including former U. Gabby Giffords. A small crowd had gathered that Saturday morning, Jan. They had been invited to a meet-and-greet with their hometown congresswoman. Her staff called the event "Congress on your Corner.

Jared Loughner had also arrived. He lived with his parents and had taken classes at Pima Community College's northwest campus, where he had once met Giffords at a event.

But he had had troubles at school. His strange questions and erratic outbursts had prompted instructors to call campus police to classes.