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A gunman targeted Democratic Representative Gabrielle Giffords as she met with constituents outside a busy supermarket on Saturday, shooting a bullet through her head and killing Arizona's chief federal judge and five others in an attack that left Americans questioning whether divisive politics had pushed the suspect over the edge.
The assassination attempt left the three-term congresswoman in critical condition. A shaken President Barack Obama called the attack "a tragedy for our entire country".
The shooting comes amid a highly charged political environment that has seen several dangerous threats against lawmakers but nothing that reached the point of bloodshed.
Giffords, 40, is a moderate Democrat who narrowly won re-election in November against a conservative tea party candidate who sought to throw her from office over her support of the historic health care reform law. Anger over her position became violent at times, with her Tucson office vandalized after the House of Representatives passed the overhaul last March and someone showing up at a recent gathering with a weapon.
Law enforcement officials said members of Congress reported 42 cases of threats or violence in the first three months of 2010, nearly three times the 15 cases reported during the same period a year earlier. Nearly all dealt with the health care bill, and Giffords was among the targets.
Police say the shooter was in custody, and was identified by people familiar with the investigation as Jared Loughner, 22. US officials who provided his name to the AP spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release it publicly.
His motivation was not immediately known, but Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik described him as mentally unstable and possibly acting with an accomplice.
Dupnik said Giffords was among 13 people wounded in the melee that killed six people - including 9-year-old Christina Greene, 30-year-old Gifford aide Gabe Zimmerman, and US District Judge John Roll. The 63-year-old judge had just stopped by to see his friend Giffords after attending Mass. Dupnik said the rampage ended only after two people tackled the gunman. Also killed were 76-year-old Dorthy Murray, 76-year-old Dorwin Stoddard, and 79-year-old Phyllis Scheck, investigators said.
The sheriff blamed the vitriolic political rhetoric that has consumed the country - much of it occurring in Arizona.
（中國日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)英語點(diǎn)津 Helen 編輯）
About the broadcaster:
Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.
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