The voice of Tucson
TUCSON CITIZEN
10 a.m. Update: Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is the only patient from Saturday’s shooting who remains in critical condition, although she was responsive to commands this morning.
“I am cautiously optimistic,” said Dr. Michael Lemole, chief of neurosurgery at University Medial Center, where Giffords is being treated.
In a detailed press conference, hospital officials said that Giffords is sedated and is being awakened periodically so doctors can see how she is progressing.
Officials said she is fortunate because the single bullet that struck her during the shooting rampage at a supermarket north of Tucson did not pass through both hemispheres. The bullet entered through the back of her skull on her left side and exited through the front.
The gravest danger now is swelling of her brain. Doctors have removed about half of her skull on the left side to alleviate the pressure.
Giffords was in surgery 38 minutes after arriving at UMC just before 11 a.m. Saturday, Rhee said.
Before surgery, Giffords was able to hold up two fingers at the request of doctors. She was able to follow the same command Sunday morning, Rhee said.
Doctors said while Giffords’ progress is promising, they don’t know what future deficits might result from being shot in the head.
Her husband, veteran astronaut Mark Kelly, is at her side. Some family friends have been allowed in to visit.
Hospital officials said all other victims brought to UMC have been upgraded from intensive care. Three remain in serious condition.
Among the dead were U.S. District Judge John Roll, who had stopped to greet Giffords after attending morning Mass; Gabe Zimmerman, a 30-year-old aide to the congresswoman who was recently engaged; and Christina Taylor Green, a 9-year-old girl who had just been elected to her school’s student council. Also killed were Dorothy Morris, 76; Dorwin Stoddard, 76; and Phyllis Scheck, 79.---
Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik was visibly angry as he briefed reporters in Tucson, repeating his belief that the gunman may have been motivated in part by hate-infused talk on radio and television.
“I think it’s time as a country to do a little soul-searching,” Dupnik said. “The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous.” ---
Giffords underwent brain surgery after the shooting, which occurred shortly after 10 a.m. Saturday in the parking lot outside a Safeway on Oracle Road near Ina Road just outside Tucson. The bullet, from a semiautomatic pistol, entered her head from the front and exited through the rear after passing through her brain in what doctors described as a “through and through” injury. ---
Giffords was at the shopping center to meet voters for what she called “Congress on Your Corner.” She did not make speeches at the events but listened to concerns from constituents. Typically 50 to 100 people would attend.
The events lasted about 90 minutes, “but the congresswoman has never left on time,” said Karamargin, who was not at Saturday’s event.
He acknowledged the risks: “Any public official who went through the past year, year and a half, had to be concerned about safety, crowds getting out of hand,” he said. ---
The first shots were reported at 10:11 a.m., and police responded immediately, shutting down surrounding streets to allow medical helicopters to land.
Amid the chaos, wildly conflicting reports emerged, spreading quickly online with the help of social-media sites such as Twitter. For a short time, some news organizations reported that Giffords had died.
Lachelle Smith, a 48-year-old teacher from Phoenix, and her daughter, Amanda MacQueen, sat drying their fingernails in a salon across the parking lot when gunfire erupted.
“It was many shots, 15, 20. It sounded like pop-pop-pop-pop-pop. It sounded like firecrackers, and at first we thought it was. It was over in seconds,” Smith said.
MacQueen, a 20-year-old Arizona State University student, watched people running in all directions. One man ran right toward her with a look of sheer terror on his face. She knew instantly the noise came from a gun. She pushed her mother to the floor and ran to the back of the salon.
The store owner locked the doors. The customers stayed flat on the floor.
Smith heard screaming as she watched out the window.
“I felt like I was looking through the glass at a movie. I thought I was watching a movie. It didn’t feel real,” Smith said.
On Saturday afternoon, about 60 to 70 people had gathered outside Giffords’ office on Swan Road in Tucson. The mood was somber.
Members of Congress have rarely been targeted by violent attacks. In 1978, U.S. Rep. Leo Ryan, D-Calif., was shot during a bloody assault in Jonestown, Guyana, where he was investigating the People’s Temple, a cult that later committed mass suicide.
There typically is no security for members of Congress. After her office was vandalized in March, Giffords told MSNBC that she was not any more fearful, even though aggressive protests were becoming more frequent at her Tucson office.
“You’ve got to think about it, our democracy is a light, a beacon, really, around the world because we effect change at the ballot box, and not because of these outbursts, of violence in many cases,” she said. “Change is important, it’s a part of our process, but it’s really important that we focus on the fact that we have a democratic process.”
Stig Östlund
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