On January 8, 2011, U.S. Representative Gabrielle Gifford and 18 other people were shot at a gathering outside a Safeway store in Tucson, Arizona. Six of those people, including a 9 year old girl, died from their wounds. The accused shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, pled guilty and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
This shooting brought Tucson together as a community in support of the victims, who are remembered with a permanent memorial and an observation of this day. Let’s remember the victims who lost their lives on this day, as well as the survivors who will bear the scars for the rest of their lives.
My hotel is very close to the Safeway; the first news conference the sheriff gave was held there. It was surreal working that night, checking in news crews and telling almost everyone I interacted with, news crew or not, that yes that was the Safeway when they asked. Trying to explain to an elderly couple at 4 AM that their precooked shared ride was going to be about 10 minutes late (dispatch called) because they had to detour due to eastbound Ina being closed due the shootings and being taken aback when their response was along the line of there was no shooting and the driver is lying and he has a lot of nerve.