by Cindi Loftus
Congresswomen Giffords is still in serious condition from a single close range bullet to her head, as her suspected shooter Jared Lee Loughner is charged with the crime.
GIffords is able to follow simple commands according to her doctors, but she is far from out of danger. They are still trying to stop the bleeding in her brain, and when it starts to swell there will be a whole nother set of hurtles to face. She has already had part of her brain tissue and skull removed.
Loughner who I said previously was a college student. Was asked to leave his community college in the fall because of his erratic behavior. He was told he could return when he had a clean bill of health from a mental health professional. Loughner bought his gun "legally" in Arizona and passed the standard back ground check. There is a question on the application that asks if you have been diagnosed as mentally ill. My guess is that he answered it with a NO.
One questionable news item that is spreading is that the shooter targeted Giffords because of a map Sarah Palin put on her site, showing Giffords district ( along with many others) in the crosshairs as one that needed to be taken over. The map is below.
I’d like to find out something about his family and his mental health history. i am still working on this story.
UPDATE- CNN is reporting that Loughner lived at home with his parents. Here is a link to the official charges http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2011/images/01/09/loughner.complaint.pdf