Democratic Congresswoman shot in Arizona

(TPM)

I just saw this at TPM. Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head at point blank range in Tuscon this morning, as she was holding a "Congress on Your Corner" event.

Local news confirmed initial reports by NPR that the suspect in his late teens or early twenties was tackled on the scene and is in custody. Gawker spoke to an apparent eyewitness, former ER doctor Steven Rayle, who assisted in apprehending the suspect.

The gunman, who may have come from inside the Safeway, walked up and shot Gifford in the head first, "point blank". According to Rayle, who is a former ER doctor, Gifford was able to move her hands after being shot. After shooting Gifford, the gunman opened fire indiscriminately for a few seconds, firing 20-30 rounds and hitting a number of people, including a kid no older than 10 years old. Rayle hid behind a concrete pole and pretended to be dead. When the gunman apparently ran out of ammunition he attempted to flee, but a member of Gifford's staff tackled him.

According to TPM, the child is dead, and so is Federal Judge John Roll, who himself faced death threats from right-wing loonies in 2009, after presiding over a civil rights case. Many of the others are still in critical condition.

Another excerpt from TPM:

Giffords has dealt with several violent incidents in the last year, mostly related to the health care reform vote. In August 2009 at another "Congress on Your Corner" event at a Douglas, AZ Safeway, one attendee dropped a gun. Her office was vandalized in March 2010 after the health care vote. That same month, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin (R) put Giffords on SarahPAC's "target" list with a gun site over her district. Giffords' opponent in a tough reelection campaign last fall, tea partier Jesse Kelly (R), reportedly held an event in June 2010 in which supporters were invited to shoot an M-16 with him to "Get On Target For Victory."

It's early yet, so we can't say anything for sure. But note that this nut fired 20 to 30 rounds, until he finally ran out of ammunition. Of course, the gun nuts support carrying weapons like this. So instead of having one or two people shot, we have ten - and we're lucky it was only that many.

Really, what kind of country are we becoming? The lunatics are taking over the asylum.