Tragedy in Arizona: The Shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords

In a shocking attack in Tucson, Arizona, U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and 17 others were shot at a public event on Saturday.

A gunman shot Giffords, federal District Judge John Roll, and others outside a Safeway supermarket where the congresswoman was meeting with constituents, according to news reports. Roll is among six dead.

As the nation reacts to this shooting, it will be parsed and explained. The alleged shooter, identified by AP sources as 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner, was frustrated with the U.S. government, and the shooting has inevitably resonated with the dark and violent tones that have arisen in domestic politics at times over the past year and a half. Discussion is emerging over how directly this shooting is connected to politics, if at all.

See Andrew Sullivan for continuous commentary on the shooting, and the rest of The Atlantic's coverage below in reverse-chronological order (timestamps in Eastern):


The Vitriol Will Likely Return. Don't expect the Arizona shooting to change the momentum of national politics, Charlie Cook warns. 9:28 a.m. Tues. 1/11




Stop the Blame Game. The media has fallen down on the job, writes National Journal's Josh Kraushaar. 9:11 a.m. Tues. 1/11




A Very Good Question: What Does 'Civility' Mean? Exactly? A specific question to make the discussion of Giffords's shooting more productive, posed by a reader and parsed by James Fallows. 10:19 p.m. Mon. 1/11




Doctors Noncommittal on Giffords Fully Regaining Faculties. Full recoveries from this kind of shooting are rare, but doctors say it's possible Gabrielle Giffords will regain her faculties. 5:56 p.m. Mon. 1/10



Obama Joins Long Line of Mourners-in-Chief. How presidents have handled tragedy, through the years. 5:11 p.m. Mon. 1/10





Tea Party Express: Liberals Exploit Shooting. One of the nation's more prominent groups sees liberals trying to silence the movement as they blame it for the shooting in Tucson. 4:42 p.m. Mon. 1/10



Data Point: Sources of Violent Political Rhetoric in Recent Years. What do people mean when they talk about "extreme" political rhetoric? They mean the items on this list. 3:11 p.m. Mon. 1/10

Do We Really Need to Know Why He Did It? There will always be people like Jared Lee Loughner. The only rhetoric he seems to have been listening to came from his  own head, Megan McArdle writes. 2:57 p.m. Mon. 1/10



Clinton Labels Loughner an 'Extremist' While in Abu Dhabi. Drawing a vague parallel between the Arab and American worlds, Clinton says, "That's not who we are, that's not who you are." 12:34 p.m. Mon. 1/10




The Tea Party Path to the Presidency Just Got Tougher. Joshua Green writes: "Whether or not it's fair to blame Jared Lee Loughner's shooting rampage against Rep. Gabrielle Giffords on overheated political rhetoric and violent imagery, the episode will probably mark a turning point in how the media cover politics." 9:59 a.m. Mon. 1/10

Giffords's Husband Thanks Supporters. Capt. Mark Kelly, a NASA astronaut, releases a statement late Sunday night. 1:12 a.m. Mon. 1/10

Members of Congress Advised to Contact Police. In e-mails from the Capitol Police and the House Sergeant at Arms, congressional offices were advised to take precautions, contact local police, and alert the Sergeant at Arms if they plan to hold public events. 9:06 p.m. Sat. 1/8

The Cloudy Logic of 'Political' Shootings. James Fallows recounts the ambiguous motives of assassins in the modern era. "Assassinations" are political by definition--the victims are targeted because politics made them public figures--but motives don't always mesh with the political issues with which those figures are associated. 7:36 p.m. Sat. 1/8