Suspect in Arizona shooting held without bail

WASHINGTON (AP) - In an earlier time, the emerging portrait of a deeply troubled young man might have given Jared Loughner's lawyers the basis of an insanity defense. But John Hinckley's successful insanity claim after shooting President Ronald Reagan led Congress to raise the bar for federal court, making the task harder.

The Justice Department has not said whether it will seek the death penalty against Loughner, the suspect in the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the deaths of a federal judge, a congressional aide and four other people. But federal prosecutors already are moving forward with charges against Loughner, and veteran lawyers anticipate they will ask for him to be executed.

Many witnesses and ample evidence strongly suggest the government will have no trouble placing the gun in Loughner's hands at the Tucson shopping center where the shootings took place. Internet postings and material investigators said they found at Loughner's home suggest that he had prior contact with Giffords and might be planning something along the lines of Saturday's rampage.

Yet comments from friends and former classmates bolstered by Loughner's own Internet postings also have painted a picture of a social outcast with almost indecipherable beliefs steeped in mistrust and paranoia.

Before the attempted assassination of Reagan, Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz said in a telephone interview Monday, "this would be a clear case of insanity, because the pre-meditation would not be seen as undercutting insanity, it would be part of demonstrating insanity." But under the post-Hinckley rules, he said, "that's a very uphill battle."

Public outrage over the jury's verdict in Hinckley's trial - not guilty by reason of insanity - prompted Congress to make it much more difficult to establish that claim in federal criminal trials.

The case against Loughner is at an early stage, as is his defense.

But several lawyers said prosecutors certainly are thinking about charging Loughner with crimes that would make him eligible to be executed.

Defense lawyers probably will spend their time making the strongest possible argument to dissuade prosecutors from pursuing the death penalty. "That's the task of his lawyer in the first instance," said Neal Sonnett, a Miami defense lawyer.

Among arguments that could be made in Loughner's defense is that, if not insane, Loughner was mentally impaired. That argument concedes that a defendant bears some responsibility for what he has done but lacks the guilt necessary to face the death penalty. The compromised state of mind sometimes is referred to as "diminished capacity."

Dershowitz predicted that federal officials will seek death for Loughner no matter what his lawyers argue. "The prosecution will seek the maximum punishment in a case like this," he said.

Loughner's defense team has not been completed: Local public defenders have requested that San Diego attorney Judy Clarke be appointed to the team. Clarke succeeded in negotiating a guilty plea and a life sentence for the Unabomber, Theodore Kaczynski. She also was part of the defense team for Timothy McVeigh, who was executed for bombing the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995.

Only McVeigh and two others have been executed in the federal system since the federal death penalty was reinstituted in 1988. Sixty other inmates are under federal death sentences, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

If there is a trial and guilty verdict, discussion of Loughner's mental state will again be a factor in a separate court hearing before the jury deliberates over a sentence.

Even if Loughner were to avoid a federal death sentence, he still could face state murder charges that carry with them the possibility of execution, lawyers said.

"It's often the case that both jurisdictions would file charges and then sort it out later," said John Canby of Phoenix, a board member of the state association of criminal defense lawyers. "If for some reason, the feds didn't want to go for the death penalty or didn't get it, it would be available at the state level perhaps."

Loughner is charged with one federal count of attempted assassination of a member of Congress, two counts of killing an employee of the federal government and two counts of attempting to kill a federal employee.

Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said Monday that state charges also will be filed by the county attorney's office based on recommendation from his office. Dupnik said there's no rush because Loughner is in custody.

PHOENIX (AP) - A 22-year-old man described as a social outcast with wild beliefs steeped in mistrust faces a federal court hearing on charges he tried to assassinate Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in a Tucson shooting rampage that left six people dead.

Public defenders are asking that the attorney who defended Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Timothy McVeigh and "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski defend Jared Loughner, who makes his first court appearance Monday at 2 p.m. MST (4 p.m. EST).

Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said Loughner was not cooperating and told ABC News the suspect had said "not a word" to investigators.

The hearing in Phoenix comes just a few hours after President Barack Obama leads a shocked and saddened nation in a moment of silence for the victims and their families. Obama will observe the moment of silence at 11 a.m. EST with White House staff on the South Lawn.

As authorities filed the charges against Loughner Sunday, they alleged he scrawled on an envelope the words "my assassination" and "Giffords" sometime before he took a cab to a shopping center where the congresswoman was meeting with constituents Saturday morning.

A federal judge, a congressional aide and a young girl were among the six people killed, while Giffords and 13 others were injured in the bursts of gunfire outside a Tucson supermarket.

Giffords, 40, lay in intensive care at a Tucson hospital, after being shot in the head at close range. Doctors said she had responded repeatedly to commands to stick out her two fingers, giving them hope she may survive.

Neurosurgeon De. Michael LeMole of Tucson's University Medical Center, appearing Monday on CBS's "The Early Show," said, "the best way to describe her this morning is that she's holding her own."

LeMole said he removed a portion of her skull in order to perform the surgery but likely will replace it at some point.

"We don't close the book on recovery for years," he said, "so it'll take as long as it takes. I think the real question will be how long it will take before she's out of the woods."

About 200 people gathered outside Giffords' Tucson office Sunday evening for a candlelight vigil. Earlier in the day, people crammed the synagogue where Giffords has been a member, as well as the Mountain Avenue Church of Christ, which lost one member in the attack and saw another one wounded.

"I don't know how to grieve. This morning I don't have the magic pill, I don't have the Scripture... I can't wrap my head around this," said the church's Rev. Mike Nowak, his strong preacher's voice wavering.

Authorities weren't saying late Sunday where Loughner was being held, and officials were working to appoint an attorney for him. Heather Williams, the first assistant federal public defender in Arizona, said they're asking that San Diego attorney Judy Clarke be appointed.
 
Clarke, a former federal public defender in San Diego and Spokane, Wash., served on teams that defended McVeigh, Kaczynski and Susan Smith, a South Carolina woman who drowned her two sons in 1994.

Loughner is charged with one count of attempted assassination of a member of Congress, two counts of killing an employee of the federal government and two counts of attempting to kill a federal employee. More charges are expected.

Discoveries at Loughner's home in southern Arizona, where he lived with his parents in a middle-class neighborhood lined with desert landscaping and palm trees, have provided few answers to what motivated him.

Court papers filed with the charges said he had previous contact with Giffords. The documents said he had received a letter from the Democratic lawmaker in which she thanked him for attending a "Congress on your Corner" event at a mall in Tucson in 2007.

Investigators carrying out a search warrant at his parents' home in a middle-class neighborhood found an envelope in a safe with the words "I planned ahead," "My assassination" and the name "Giffords" next to what appears to be his signature.

Neighbors said Loughner kept to himself and was often seen walking his dog, almost always wearing a hooded sweat shirt and listening to his iPod.

Comments from friends and former classmates bolstered by Loughner's own Internet postings have painted a picture of a social outcast with almost indecipherable beliefs steeped in mistrust and paranoia.

"If you call me a terrorist then the argument to call me a terrorist is Ad hominem," he wrote Dec. 15 in a wide-ranging posting.

Two high school friends said they had fallen out of touch with Loughner and last spoke to him around March, when one of them was going to set up some bottles in the desert for target practice and Loughner suggested he might come along. It was unusual - Loughner hadn't expressed an interest in guns before - and his increasingly confrontational behavior was pushing them apart. He would send bizarre text messages, but also break off contact for weeks on end.

"We just started getting sketched out about him," the friend said.

Around the same time, Loughner's behavior also began to worry officials at Pima Community College, where Loughner began attending classes in 2005, the school said in a release.

Between February and September, Loughner "had five contacts with PCC police for classroom and library disruptions," the statement said. He was suspended in September after college police discovered a YouTube video in which Loughner claimed the college was illegal according to the U.S. Constitution.

He withdrew voluntarily the following month, and was told he could return only if, among other things, a mental health professional agreed he did not present a danger, the school said.

Police said he purchased the Glock pistol used in the attack at Sportsman's Warehouse in Tucson in November.

An official familiar with the shooting investigation said Sunday that local authorities were looking at a possible connection between Loughner and an online group known for white supremacist, anti-immigrant rhetoric.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation, said local authorities were examining the American Renaissance website for possible motives.

The group's leaders said in a posting on their website that Loughner never subscribed to their magazine, registered for any of the group's conferences or visited their Internet site.

Giffords, a conservative Democrat re-elected in November, faced threats and heckling over her support for immigration reform and the health care overhaul. Her office was vandalized the day the House approved the landmark health care measure.

It was not clear whether those issues motivated the shooter to fire on the crowd gathered to meet Giffords.

The six killed included U.S. District Judge John Roll, 63, and 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green, who was born on Sept. 11, 2001, and was 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 author, Christine Naman, said: "Tragedy seems to have happened again."

Green was recently elected as a student council member and went to the morning's event because of her interest in government.

Others killed were Giffords aide Gabe Zimmerman, 30; Dorothy Morris, 76; Dorwin Stoddard, 76; and Phyllis Schneck, 79.

WASHINGTON, DC (WSYR-TV) - Members of Congress, along with their chiefs of staff, have taken part in a conference call with Capitol Police. All are being encouraged to notify local law enforcement officers before holding events within their districts to prevent problems before they crop up.

Other than an increased police presence, no major changes are expected for events attended by members of congress. Lawmakers tell us they can't let Saturday's shooting in Arizona interfere with their jobs.

"Almost inevitably, they tend to be people who are mentally unstable, not people with political motivation," said New York Senator Chuck Schumer. "In almost every case, those people make the threat but take no action and they're handled effectively and quietly."

"What [Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords] was doing is a part of the job and we can't not do that," said 25th District Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle. 

"We've got to reach out to our constituents. We have to be accessible to them. We have to have conversations with them. So, I don't think we can let these events affect what we do and how we do our jobs," she said.

Buerkle says its important to recognize this weekend's events likely represented an isolated incident.

There will be a national moment of silence Monday morning at 11 o'clock to remember and honor the victims of Saturday's shooting in Tucson. Six people died, and more than a dozen others were injured, including Giffords. She is in a medically induced coma.

TUSCON, Ariz. (AP) - Federal prosecutors brought charges Sunday against the gunman accused of carrying out an assassination attempt on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killing six people at a political event in Arizona.

Investigators said they carried out a search warrant at Jared Loughner's home and seized an envelope from a safe with messages such as "I planned ahead," "My assassination" and the name "Giffords" next to what appears to be the man's signature. He allegedly purchased the Glock pistol used in the attack in November at Sportsman's Warehouse in Tucson.

Court documents also show that Loughner had contact with Giffords in the past. Other evidence included a letter addressed to him from Giffords' congressional stationery in which she thanked him for attending a "Congress on your Corner" event at a mall in Tucson in 2007.

Heather Williams, the first assistant federal public defender in Arizona, says the 22-year-old suspect doesn't yet have a lawyer, but that her office is working to get a lawyer appointed for Loughner.

Meanwhile, authorities released 911 calls in which a person witnessing the mass shooting outside a grocery store in Tucson describes a frantic scene and says, "I do believe Gabby Giffords was hit."

Loughner, 22, is accused of killing six people, including a federal judge, an aide to Giffords and a 9-year-old girl who was born on Sept. 11, 2001. Fourteen others were wounded, including the three-term Democrat lawmaker. Authorities don't know his motive, but said he targeted Giffords at a public gathering around 10 a.m. Saturday outside a busy Tucson supermarket.

Doctors treating the Democrat provided an optimistic update about her chances for survival, saying they are "very, very encouraged" by her ability to respond to simple commands along with their success in controlling her bleeding.

He accused of firing 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."

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.

An unidentified man who authorities earlier said might have acted as an accomplice was cleared Sunday of any involvement. Pima County sheriff's deputy Jason Ogan told The Associated Press on Sunday that the man was a cab driver who drove the gunman to the grocery store outside of which the shooting occurred.

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 granddaughter 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.

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.

Pima County Sheriff Clarence 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.

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - A 9-year-old child and a federal judge are among six dead and 13 wounded by an assailant who opened fire in front of a grocery store as Rep. Gabrielle Giffords met with a group of constituents.

The Arizona Democrat was shot in the head in the attack and is in critical condition, but hospital officials describe her outlook as "optimistic."

Giffords spokesman C.J. Karamargin says several of the congresswoman's staff were also shot. Congressional officials say an aide to the Democrat was killed.

The alleged shooter is in custody. People familiar with the investigation identify him as 22-year-old Jared Loughner. Pima County Sheriff's officials say he used a pistol to carry out the shooting spree.

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head Saturday when an assailant opened fire outside a grocery store during a meeting with constituents, killing at least five people and wounding several others in a rampage that rattled the nation.

Giffords was among at least 10 people wounded, and the hospital said her outlook was "optimistic" and that she was responding to commands from doctors. The hospital said a 9-year-old child was among the killed, and a U.S. Marshal said a federal judge was also fatally shot in the attack.

Giffords spokesman C.J. Karamargin said an unspecified number of her staff members were injured in the shooting. Congressional officials said an aide to the Democrat was killed, and President Barack Obama said five people died in all.

Police say the shooter was in custody, and was identified by people familiar with the investigation as Jared Loughner, 22. Pima County Sheriff's officials said he used a pistol to carry out the shooting spree. U.S. officials who provided his name to the AP spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release it publicly.

The shooting prompted an outpouring of sympathy from politicians and people around the country. President Barack Obama called the shooting "an unspeakable tragedy" and that such "a senseless and terrible act of violence has no place in a free society." Obama sent his FBI director to oversee the investigation.

"It's not surprising that today Gabby was doing what she always does, listening to the hopes and concerns of her neighbors," Obama said in a nationally televised news conference. "That is the essence of what our democracy is about."

Federal law enforcement officials were poring over captured versions of a MySpace page that belonged to Jared Loughner and over Youtube video published to the Internet weeks ago under an account "Classitup10" and linked to him. The MySpace page, which was removed within minutes of the gunman being identified by U.S. officials, included a mysterious "Goodbye friends" message published hours before the shooting and exhorted his friends to "Please don't be mad at me."

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. Two spellings of his last name were given in the aftermath of the shooting - Loughner and Laughner.

"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)."

Three hours after the shooting, the L-shaped shopping center in Tucson was blocked off by police and had fire trucks and other vehicles in its parking lot that blocked the view of the store's front door. No shell casing could be seen from the area 500 yards from the store where reporters and photographers were kept.

Outside Giffords' office on Capitol Hill, a handful of congressional staffers could be seen walking into her office without comment, some with roller bags and one who was in tears. About a half dozen yellow flowers, placed by one mourner, sat outside the door.

U.S. Marshal for Arizona David Gonzales confirmed to the Associated Press that U.S. District Judge John Roll also died in the attack.

Giffords, 40, was re-elected to her third term last November. She was a member of the Arizona House and Senate before coming to Washington.

Giffords tweeted shortly before the shooting, describing her "Congress on Your Corner" event: "My 1st Congress on Your Corner starts now. Please stop by to let me know what is on your mind or tweet me later."

Giffords is married to astronaut Mark E. Kelly, who has piloted space shuttles Endeavour and Discovery. The two met in China in 2003 while they were serving on a committee there, and were married in January 2007.

In a statement of condolence, Sen. Bill Nelson, chairman of the Senate Commerce Space and Science Subcommittee, said her husband is training to be the next commander of the space shuttle mission slated for April. His brother is currently serving aboard the International Space Station, he said.

Giffords was first elected to Congress amid a wave of Democratic victories in the 2006 election, and she won a narrow victory against a tea party favorite in the 2010 election.

She has been mentioned as a possible Democratic nominee in 2012 for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Jon Kyl, who has not said whether he'll run again, or for the governor's office in 2014.

The shooting comes amid a highly charged political environment that has seen several dangerous threats against lawmakers but nothing that reached the point of actual violence.

A San Francisco man upset with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's support of health care reform pleaded guilty to threatening the Democratic congresswoman and her family, calling her directly on March 25 and threatening to destroy her Northern California home if she voted for health care reform.

In July, a California man known for his anger over left-leaning politics engaged in a shootout with highway patrol officers after planning an attack on the ACLU and another nonprofit group. The man said he wanted to "start a revolution" by killing people at the ACLU and the Tides Foundation.

Giffords herself has drawn the ire of the right, especially for her support of the health care bill from politicians like Sarah Palin.

Her Tucson office was vandalized a few hours after the House vote to approve the health care law in March, with someone either kicking or shooting out a glass door and window. In an interview after the vandalism, Giffords referred to the animosity against her by conservatives. Palin listed Giffords' seat as one of the top "targets" in the midterm elections because of the lawmakers' support for the health care law.

"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.

Capitol police responded to the shooting by advising lawmakers and their staff to "take reasonable and prudent precautions regarding their personal security."

Despite her clashes with the right, Giffords describes herself as a former Republican and current Blue Dog Democrat.

"You know, actually as a former Republican, you know, I consider myself someone who is pretty in the middle, I'm a blue dog Democrat, and one that is interested in making sure that our country maintains our prosperity and frankly, our superiority over other countries and that's where we look at these threat, obviously our defense budget, our level of education," she said in an interview with Fox News Channel this week.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A doctor says a 9-year-old girl is one of three confirmed deaths in Saturday's shooting in Arizona. 

Congressional officials say an aide to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has died after the attack in Tucson, Arizona,  and a federal law enforcement official says that a federal judge was also fatally shot in the attack on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona.

A hospital official there says the congresswoman herself is alive but in critical condition after being shot in the head.

The AP reports that the gunman is identified as Jared Laughner; he is in custody.

Congressional officials say as many as a dozen people were wounded in the attack as the three-term Democrat was meeting consituents outside a grocery store.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot outside a Tucson grocery store today, had just begun her third term.

The 40-year-old Arizona Democrat was re-elected to a third term in November, edging a tea party favorite. Officials say the FBI and local law enforcement are investigating the attack.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Congressional officials say Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has been shot in the head while meeting with constituents in her district in the area around Tucson.

These officials say as few as four and as many as a dozen people were wounded in the attack, including members of the Democratic congresswoman's staff.  One official says one of the victims has died.

The severity of the injuries suffered by the others is not immediately known.

The officials spoke only on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to do so on the record.