PHOENIX (AP) - The Latest on reaction from past shooting victims on the Wednesday shooting at a congressional baseball practice(all times local):
12:15 p.m.
Former U.S. Rep. Ron Barber, who worked as an aide to Gabby Giffords when they were both shot at a constituent event in 2011, says he is devastated by the attack on a congressional baseball game that left a top Republican injured.
Barber said Wednesday the shooting in Tucson is still embedded in his mind and that the latest attack was a somber reminder of how low political discourse has fallen. Barber took over Giffords’ seat in Congress but narrowly lost it in a 2014 re-election bid.
Barber said political rhetoric has gotten so extreme that he hardly recognizes the U.S. political process these days. He said this creates an environment for people who are unstable to carry out attacks.
Barber said the president needs to “come out strongly” in favor of civil discourse. He also said the public should be thinking not just of the survivors but of their families and first responders traumatized by the events.
___
11:30 a.m.
A survivor of the mass shooting at constituent event hosted by former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords in Tucson six years ago says Wednesday’s shooting at a congressional baseball practice brought back painful memories.
Ken Dorushka was shot in the arm while shielding his wife from killer Jared Loughner. He says the latest shooting is a reminder that the government should do more to keep weapons out of the hands of mentally unstable people.
Dorushka is retired now but serves on the board of the January 8th Foundation raising money to build a memorial for the victims and survivors of the shooting.
Dorushka said he hopes survivors will not be defined by the shooting but rather by people coming together.
___
10:10 a.m.
Gabby Giffords, the former U.S. representative who was shot during a public meeting with her constituents in Arizona six years ago, says she is heart-broken for the victims of Wednesday’s shooting at a congressional baseball practice.
Giffords issued a statement through her political action committee, Americans for Responsible Solutions, which aims to reduce gun violence through stricter laws.
Giffords said the shooting is an attack on all who serve and participate in democracy.
Giffords was shot in the head and severely wounded on Jan. 8, 2011, outside a Tucson grocery store. Six people were killed and 13 were injured in the shooting by Jared Loughner, who is serving life in prison.
___
8:23 a.m.
Former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords says her heart is with her former colleagues, their families and staff and the Capitol Police following a shooting at a congressional baseball practice outside Washington.
She also says in a Twitter post that Capitol Police are “public servants and heroes today and every day.”
Giffords was shot in the head at a meet-and-greet event outside a grocery store in Tucson, Arizona, in 2011.
Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake was among those participating in the baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia, but not wounded.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.