Arizona Congresswoman Shot dead at point-blank range moments ago~!

[Jan Klimkowski]

Here's how it's playing out already:

Gabrielle Giffords' father: 'The whole Tea Party were her enemies'

The father of shot American congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has said that her political stance made her many enemies.

Miss Giffords, a Democrat congresswoman, was shot in the head during a public meeting in Tucson, Arizona.

A lone gunman, described by witnesses as being a white man in his late teens or early twenties, fired into a crowd gathered for a "Congress in your Corner" event outside a supermarket.

Her father Spencer Giffords, 75, wept when asked if his 40-year-old daughter had any enemies.

"Yeah," he told The New York Post. "The whole tea party."

Miss Giffords had been named in March as a political campaign target for conservatives in November's elections by former Alaska governor Sarah Palin for her strong support for the health reforms of President Barack Obama.

Mrs Palin had published a "target map" on her website using images of gun sights to identify 20 House Democrats, including Miss Giffords, for backing the new health care law.

The Democrat congresswoman was a target of conservative Republican campaigning for her enthusiastic backing of President Barack Obama's healthcare reforms and last year complained that her office in Tucson had been attacked by vandals.

Sarah Palin issued a statement shortly after the shooting.

"My sincere condolences are offered to the family of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the other victims of today's tragic shooting in Arizona," she said.

"On behalf of Todd and my family, we all pray for the victims and their families, and for peace and justice."

The congresswoman, who is Jewish, is a gun-owner and supporter of the right to bear arms. She was also a strong advocate of abortion rights.

She won re-election to her third term in Congress last year, beating off a challenge for a Republican candidate endorsed by the Tea Party.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnew...emies.html