'All we can do is pray': Husband of shot congresswoman breaks his silence as Obama leads nation in mourning

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 10:43 PM on 10th January 2011

The husband of the Congresswoman gunned down in the Tucson massacre broke his silence today as President Obama led a nationwide minute's silence for those who lost their lives.

In his first words since Saturday's horrific attack, Gabrielle Giffords' husband Mark Kelly expressed his condolences to the six people who were shot dead.

In a statement, Mr Kelly said: 'Many of you have offered help. There is little that we can do but pray for those who are struggling.'

This morning people across America paused for a minute's silence to pay their respects to the victims of the shootings.

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Solemn: President Obama and the First Lady remember the victims of the Tucson shootings today during a ceremony in Washington

Silence: White House staff join the President and his wife for a minute's silence today to remember the victims of the Tucson shooting

Support: President Obama and his wife walk back into the White House arm in arm today after the minute's silence to remember the victims of Saturday's massacre

Mark of respect: Flags flew at half-mast today in Washington and across the country today in memory of those killed and wounded in Saturday's tragedy

Shrine: Rachel Cooper-Blackmore, 9, adds a note to a make-shift memorial at Mesa Verde Elementary in Tucson, where massacre victim Christina Taylor Green was a third-grader

In Washington, the President and his wife were joined by staff for a poignant ceremony at the White House.

As the alleged gunman prepared to make his first appearance in court today, fresh details emerged of the astonishing heroism of passers-by who foiled his attempts to kill more victims.

It emerged that a 61-year-old woman wrestled an ammunition clip from the gunman as he tried to reload his weapon.

Happy to be alive: In her embroidered denim jacket, Patricia Maisch, 61, doesn't look like a hero. But she may have saved many lives after helping disarm the Arizona gunman on Saturday

Quick-thinking: Ms Maisch speaks to reporters outside her home yesterday

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Patricia Maisch told of the moment she tackled Jared Loughner, stopping his killing spree outside an Arizona supermarket on Saturday.

Loughner had allegedly just shot Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords through the head and murdered six other people including nine-year-old Christina Green, who was born on September 11, 2001.

Ms Maisch found herself lying next to the shooter as he tried to fit a fresh clip of bullets to his Glock 9mm pistol.

She said: 'I kneeled over him. He was pulling a magazine [to reload] and I grabbed the magazine and secured that.'

Three other men - identified as Bill Badger, Roger Sulzgeber and Joseph Zimudie - stepped in to stop the carnage.

Details of how Loughner's killing spree was stopped emerged as it was revealed the shooter may be linked to an extremist white power group, American Renaissance.

The Department of Homeland Security was investigating claims that the 22-year-old, described as a cannabis-smoking loner, was linked to the anti-Semitic group.

Congresswoman Giffords, the 40-year-old wife of an astronaut, has a Jewish father.

Loughner was charged with the attempted assassination of Mrs Giffords yesterday, as well as the murder of two federal employees - federal judge John Roll and Giffords aide Gabe Zimmerman - and the attempted murders of two others.

He may still face state charges for the death of four more people, including a nine-year-old girl who was born on September 11, 2001.

 

More...

• 'She's responding to simple commands': Giffords battles for survival after being shot in the head at point-blank range
• Saviours of Tucson: White-haired heroine grabbed magazine from cannabis-smoking loner gunman linked to white supremacists
• 'We have a mentally unstable person in the class that scares the living c**p out of me': Emails reveal student's fears of Jared Loughner months before shootings
• Palin removes 'target list' from her website as mourners blame 'toxic' Tea Party's 'vitriolic rhetoric' for Arizona shooting
• 'She was a beautiful girl inside and out': Devastated parents of nine-year-old girl killed in Tucson shooting reveal her pride at being born on 9/11

Ms Maisch said she was waiting in line with her husband to get a photograph with Mrs Giffords at the Congress on your Corner rally in the parking lot of the mall in Tucson, Arizona on Saturday when the first shot rang out.

Saving her life: Mrs Giffords, in a red jacket and with a compress pressed to her head, is rushed to hospital. Doctors say her swift arrival at the hospital may have saved her life

'Our worst nightmare': Rescuers work desperately to save one of the shooting victims as a witness - her knees stained dark from kneeling in a puddle of blood - turns away in horror

Federal charge: Jared Loughner, right, has been charged with the attempted assassination of U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, left. It is believed to be the first assassination attempt on a female politician in the history of the U.S. 

'I'm not a gun person,' she said - but even so, she knew what the noise was instantly.  

WHAT IS THE OPENLY RACIST AMERICAN RENAISSANCE?

Founded in 1991 by journalist Jared Taylor, American Renaissance collates articles on its website that are pro-white and publishes a monthly magazine which is openly racist. 

It described the recent success for the Republican party during the U.S. mid-term elections as the ‘great white wave’, and its articles often dwell on the long discredited subject of racial science. 

Its mission statement says: ‘One of the most destructive myths of modern times is that people of all races have the same average intelligence. 

‘Racial loyalty or racial consciousness is normal and healthy. All non-white groups instinctively pursue their own interests, and legitimately so. 

'It is only whites who have been taught that it is immoral to take even the most basic steps to ensure their survival.’ 

Among the contributors have been Nick Griffin, the leader of the BNP in the UK and right-wring American commentator Lawrence Auster, who has claimed in his books that immigration has ruined the U.S. 

Mr Taylor said the DHS memo was ‘scurrilous’. 

‘That is complete nonsense. I have absolutely no idea what DHS is talking about. If this is the level of research we are getting from DHS, then heaven help us.’ 

He added that he had never heard of Loughner until the shooting, nor was the suspect a subscriber to any of the publications published by his AmRen publishing house.

There was a slight pause after the first shot, she told ABC News.

With incredible calm, Ms Maisch said she considered her options: Run, or lie down. Lying down would make her less of a target, she reasoned, so she hit the ground next to another woman. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she said, she could see the gunman approaching. He shot the woman next to her. 

'I was waiting to see if I got shot, and wondering how a gun wound would feel,' Ms Maisch said. But then, suddenly, he was on the ground next to her - knocked down by brave bystanders Roger Sulzberger and Joseph Zimudie. 

Ms Maisch said she heard people crying: 'Get the gun!' so she scrambled up and kneeled over him as he pulled a magazine out of his pocket. Unable to reach the gun, she instead rendered the gun useless by grabbing the magazine. 

Then she held the gunman's ankles down as Mr Sulzberger, Mr Zimudie, and a third man, Bill Badger, held him down on the ground. Mr Badger, a 74-year-old retired army colonel, was grazed in the back of the head by one of the gunman's bullets.

'I thought I would be shot. I am thankful for those two brave men,' Ms Maisch said. 

'I am not a hero. The other guys are. I just assisted getting the clip.'

She spoke as police released some of the 911 calls made during the massacre. 

In one of them, a 911 operator can be heard calmly asking questions - then quietly saying to herself, 'Oh God'.

In another, a man describes the terrifying scene to an operator as he dashes among the victims to help the survivors. 

Eighteen people were shot in total in Tucson on Saturday. The FBI has said that Mrs Giffords was the target - but six other people were killed. 

Loughner fired at Mrs Giffords' district director and shot indiscriminately at staffers and others standing in line to talk to the congresswoman, said Mark Kimble, a communications staffer for Mrs 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'.

In prayer: Candles surround photos of federal judge John Roll, who was killed in yesterday's shooting, and U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot through the head but survived, at a vigil in Tucson last night

Uniting: Women hold candles at the vigil for Mrs Giffords and the other victims in Tucson last night

One of Mrs Giffords' interns Daniel Hernandez described today the moment he saw she had been shot.

ARIZONA SHOOTING: THE 911 TAPES

Caller: There was a shooting at Safeway.
Operator: OK, what do you mean?
Caller: At Ina. At Ina and Oracle. Where Gabrielle Giffords was. And people who were with Gabby Giffords was hit.
Operator: At Safeway, sir?
Caller: Yes, Safeway. You OK?
Overheard: I am, I am.
Operator: Was somebody shot then, sir?
Caller: Yes. It looked like the guy had a semi-automatic pistol. And he went in. He just started firing. And then he ran. We got …
Operator: Which way did he run?

Caller: Uh, he ran north, past the Walgreens, that's right next to the Safeway.
Operator: Can you describe him?
Caller: What?
Operator: Can you describe him, sir? What was he wearing?
Caller: He was wearing a hoodie.
Operator: What colour was the hoodie?
Caller: It was black.
Operator: OK. What colour were his pants?
Caller: It looked like he was wearing blue jeans. And it looked like he was wearing a black sweater.
Operator: OK. Is anybody injured? Did you say Gabrielle Giffords is hit?
Caller: She is hit.
Operator: OK.
Caller: I do believe she is breathing.
Overheard: She is breathing.
Caller: She is breathing.
Overheard: She has a pulse.
Caller: She still has a pulse. And we've got a few people — and we've got one dead. And there are injured.
Operator: OK. And there's other people injured?
Caller: There are other people. There is multiple people shot.
Operator: OK. Oh, my God.
Caller: This is a nightmare.
Caller: You OK, sir? We've got help coming. We've got more. 

He said: 'After the shots were initially fired and I heard somebody say ‘gun’, my first instinct was to run towards where the congresswoman would likely be. Because if there was indeed a gunman, I assumed she would be the target.

'The first thing I did when I approached the area where the congresswoman would likely be, was trying to assess those who were injured. 

'There were a few other people who I saw before the congresswoman, so what I first tried to do was see if they had a pulse and see if they were still breathing – so trying to do triage. 

'However, after about two or three people I noticed that the congresswoman had indeed been hit.

'She then became my top priority, not because of her stature or because of her position, but because of the severity of her wounds. 

'Right away I could tell that she had been shot in the head, and I know that any gunshot wound is severe but especially those to the head.'

Mrs Giffords, whose father is the first cousin of director Bruce Paltrow, father of actress Gwyneth Paltrow, was shot in the head at point blank range.

The bullet passed through the left side of her brain - from back to front - before exiting, in what is believed to be the first assassination attempt on a female politician in America. 

Today the doctors who operated on Mrs Giffords said they were 'cautiously optimistic' for her recovery.

Dr Michael Lemole and Dr Peter Rhee said they were happy with Mrs Giffords' recovery but admitted that swelling to the brain may still prove fatal.

Dr Lemole, chief of neurosurgery, said there would have been concerns if the bullet crossed the geometric center of the brain. He said it was not the case in this instance.

He said: 'Brain swelling at any time can take a turn for worse. She looks good now... Brain swelling is the biggest threat.'

Miracle workers: Neurosurgeon Dr Michael Lemole, left, and Dr Peter Rhee update the press on Mrs Gifford's condition. Dr Lemole said he was 'cautiously optimistic' but said brain swelling could 'take a turn for the worse'

Dr Lemole revealed that surgeons removed a portion of Mrs Giffords' skull to relieve pressure on her swollen brain. 

Dr Rhee said that Mrs Giffords had been shot in the head 'through and through'.

Her husband Captain Mark Kelly flew to her bedside last night. He is due to pilot the shuttle on its last mission to the International Space Station in April. 

In a statement late last night, Mr Kelly thanked the nation and Arizona residents for their support.

'On behalf of Gabby and our entire family, I want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the people of Arizona and this great nation for their unbelievable outpouring of support.'

Holding on: A woman goes on her knees to pray outside the Arizona hospital where Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is fighting for her life today

Race against time: A victim is rushed to hospital after the shooting in Tucson yesterday

Hellish scene: Blood, papers, and other debris are scattered on the ground of the parking lot outside the Safeway in Tucson, Arizona yesterday

Investigators said they carried out a search warrant at suspect Jared Loughner's Tucson 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 9mm weapon used in the attack in November at Sportsman's Warehouse in Tucson.

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

However, a friend said Loughner did not have happy memories of the event. Mrs Giffords had apparently responded in Spanish when he asked the question 'How do you know words mean anything?'.

President Barack Obama called on people in the United States to observe a moment of silence at 11 am EST Monday to honour victims of the Arizona shooting. 

Gun supporter: The congresswoman takes aim with an automatic weapon in a 2009 picture she posted on her pages on the Flickr photo-sharing website

In mourning: The American flag flies at half-staff on the U.S. Capitol in Washington today

Mr Obama will observe the moment with White House staff on the South Lawn. The President has signed a proclamation calling for flags to be flown at half-staff.

Loughner is to be represented by Federal Public Defender Judy Clarke, who has previously worked with Theodore J. Kaczynski, who was convicted in the Unabomber attacks, and Zacarias Moussaoui, the Al Qaeda operative.

An unidentified man who authorities earlier said might have acted as an accomplice was cleared Sunday of any involvement in the attack. A security camera captured an image of a man with Loughner shortly before the attack.

Dupnik said the man was a cab driver who walked into the Safeway grocery store with Loughner because the driver didn't have change for a $20 bill. He said the shooting occurred just after the two exchanged money.

Christina Green and Judge John Roll

Dorothy Morris, 76, and Giffords aide Gabe Zimmerman, who also died in yesterday's shooting. He was due to be married this year

Phyllis Schneck and Dorwan Stoddard

In Loughner's middle-class neighbourhood - about a five-minute drive from the scene - sheriff's deputies had much of the street blocked off. 

 

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The neighbourhood sits just off a bustling Tucson street and is lined with desert landscaping and palm trees.

Neighbours 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.

Mrs Giffords faced frequent backlash from the right over her support of the health care reform last year, and had her office vandalised the day the House approved the landmark measure.

Sheriff 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 backlash: Palin's targets blamed

Sarah Palin was accused yesterday of using violent imagery to whip up the poisonous political atmosphere blamed by some for the killings.

The former Republican vice-presidential contender posted a ‘target map’ on her Facebook page last March, telling voters in the forthcoming mid-term elections: ‘It’s time to take a stand.’

The graphic used gunsight-style crosshair targets on the districts of 20 Democrat politicians she had singled out for defeat after they supported Barack Obama’s healthcare reforms.

Mrs Giffords was targeted in this Sarah Palin campaign earlier this year. Palin's official Facebook page carried a map featuring 20 gun sights

One of the targets was Gabrielle Giffords.

Her Tucson office was hit by shotgun pellets the same month, and she later criticised Mrs Palin’s choice of imagery in a television interview.

In what proved to be a grimly accurate prediction, Miss Giffords said: ‘When people do that, they’ve got to realise there are consequences to that action.’

Mrs Palin, who has boasted of her experience as a hunter and likes to use gun-related metaphors, sent an accompanying message on Twitter in which she repeated a favourite maxim of her father: ‘Don’t Retreat, Instead RELOAD.’

The crosshairs map was hastily removed from the internet yesterday and Mrs Palin offered her ‘sincere condolences’ to Miss Giffords and the others who were shot.

Rebecca Mansour, a member of her team, said the crosshairs were never intended to be gunsights.

‘It was simply crosshairs like you’d see on maps,’ she told a radio show. ‘It never occurred to us that anybody would consider it violent.’

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