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U.S. president observe moment of silence for victims in Arizona massacre

11 January 2011 03:57 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama joined numerous people across the country in observing a moment of silence to honor the victims of the tragic shooting in Tucson, Arizona, APA reports quoting RIA Novosti.
The president and his wife observed the moment of silence on Monday afternoon on the South Lawn of the White House.
Six people were killed and 14 others were wounded in the shooting spree that took place when Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords addressed her supporters in Tucson, Arizona, on Saturday.
Giffords, 40, was shot in the head and hospitalized in a critical condition. She underwent brain surgery, and doctors said they were "cautiously optimistic" about her recovery.
U.S. District Judge John Roll, Giffords’ aide and a 9-year-old girl were among those killed in the shooting. The suspect, who was apprehended at the scene, has been identified as a 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner of Arizona. He used a 9-mm semi-automatic handgun in the attack.
Loughner appeared in a Phoenix, Arizona, court on Monday afternoon as he is facing five federal charges, two of which have a possible death penalty sentence.
The court ruled to keep the suspect in custody and refused to release him on bail.
Giffords is known as a moderate centrist politician and a rising star among American lawmakers. A third-term Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, she supported the right of Americans to bear arms and criticized existing immigration laws.
U.S. President Barack Obama called the shooting a "senseless and terrible act of violence" and an "unspeakable tragedy."