page_title: 2011 Tucson shooting
section_title: Perpetrator
hierarchical_section_title: 2011 Tucson shooting / Investigation / Perpetrator
caption_attribution_description: English: Front view of federal mug shot of Jared Lee Loughner taken while in custody of U.S. Marshals in Phoenix, Arizona.[1][2]
context_page_description: On January 8, 2011, U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords and eighteen others were shot during a constituent meeting held in a supermarket parking lot in Casas Adobes, Arizona, in the Tucson metropolitan area. Six people died, including federal District Court Chief Judge John Roll; Gabe Zimmerman, one of Giffords' staffers; and a nine-year-old girl, Christina-Taylor Green. Giffords was holding the meeting, called "Congress on Your Corner", in the parking lot of a Safeway store when Jared Lee Loughner drew a pistol and shot her in the head before proceeding to fire on other people. One additional person was injured in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. News reports identified the target of the attack to be Giffords, a Democrat representing Arizona's 8th congressional district. She was shot through the head at point-blank range, and her medical condition was initially described as "critical".
  Loughner, a 22-year-old Tucson man who was fixated on Giffords, was arrested at the scene. Federal prosecutors filed five charges against him, including the attempted assassination of a member of Congress and the assassination of a federal judge.
context_section_description: Jared Lee Loughner, then age 22, lived with his parents Randy and Amy Loughner in Tucson, about 5 miles (8.0 km) from the site of the shooting. His mother worked for the City Parks Department; his father's work was not known. Loughner had been attending Pima Community College. Former classmates stated Loughner (at the time) cared about his education due to his appreciation of knowledge.  Because of teacher and student complaints about Loughner's increasingly disruptive behavior in classes, the college suspended him on September 29, 2010, and he dropped out of the school in October. Loughner chose not to return, as the college required him to have a mental health evaluation and clearance to be readmitted.
  Before the shooting, Loughner had two previous offenses, one of which was for drug possession. He had become obsessed with Giffords, and had previously met her at a "Congress on your Corner" event in a Tucson mall in August 2007.
  U.S. Army officials said that Loughner had attempted to enlist in 2008, but his application had been rejected as "unqualified" for service. They declined further disclosure due to confidentiality rules. An administration official indicated to the media that Loughner had failed a drug test.
  Loughner had been posting material online for some time via his Myspace account and on YouTube under the name "Classitup10". He gave his views on terrorism, federal laws, and his belief that the government was brainwashing the citizenry with language. Hours before the incident, Loughner's Myspace page was updated with posts from his account stating, "Goodbye", and said to friends: "Please don't be mad at me."
  On November 30, 2010, Loughner purchased a Glock 19 semi-automatic pistol at a Sportsman's Warehouse store in Tucson, passing a background check.
  Earlier on the day of the shooting, Loughner reportedly had an altercation with his father regarding a black bag the younger man took from a car trunk. A bag matching the description was later found in a nearby desert area containing 9mm ammunition, and it is believed to belong to Loughner. Later that morning, at approximately 7:30 a.m., Loughner was stopped by an Arizona Game and Fish Department officer after running a red light, but was released with a reminder when it was determined that he did not have any outstanding warrants.
caption: Photograph of Loughner taken by U.S. Marshals
exif: {}