6 Killed, Congresswoman Giffords Critically Wounded in Arizona Shooting

A gunman opened fire at a town hall style meeting hosted by Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D- AZ; 8th district) outside a Tuscon-area Safeway grocery store, shooting 19 people on Saturday before being subdued and having his pistol wrestled away by bystanders.

A Federal Judge, a US Marshall, one of Gifford's aides and a 9 year old child were reportedly among those killed in the shooting. Early media reports had erroneously said that Giffords was one of the fatalities, but doctors at the University of Arizona Medical Center in Tuscon said that the Congresswoman was responsive and is expected to recover from a gunshot wound to the head.

The gunman, believed to be 22 year old Jared Loughner, shouted something before opening fire on Giffords and the crowd. He was reportedly wrestled to the ground and subdued by bystanders after he started shooting.

Loughner left a farewell message on his MySpace page and left YouTube videos that consisted of white text on a black background saying that an individual could start their own language or circulate their own currency before ending with 'My Thoughts- Jared Lee Loughner' [Milblogger JR Salzman was able to post some of the videos at his place- NANESB!]. According to police, a preliminary investigations indicates that Loughner acted alone.

Already, the MSM and progressive blogosphere are showing their concern for Gifford's well-being by attempting to single-handedly pin the shootings on Sarah Palin and the Tea Party, even though Giffords is one of the more conservative House Democrats to win re-election in 2010. In fact, the Daily Kos felt it necessary to delete a diary entry marked 'My Congresswoman [Giffords] is DEAD to me' posted about 48 hours before the shooting that was captured elsewhere for posterity.