Gabrielle Giffords’ Last Tweet Before Shooting: ‘Let Me Know What Is on Your Mind’
Shortly before U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot once in the head Jan. 8 outside a Tucson, Ariz., grocery store, the congresswoman invited Twitter followers to visit her “Congress on Your Corner” constituent gathering where the violence erupted.
“Please stop by to let me know what is on your mind or tweet me later,” the Arizona Democrat said.
Giffords, 40, underwent surgery at a Tucson hospital, where a surgeon said he was optimistic about her recovery. One law enforcement official said the congresswoman had been “gravely injured.” Six of the shooting victims have been confirmed dead; about a dozen more people were wounded.
In March 2010, Sarah Palin’s political action committee posted a U.S. map with sniper crosshairs targeting 20 Democrats in the U.S. House for defeat, including Giffords.
On her Facebook page, Palin offered this reaction to the Tucson shooting:
“My sincere condolences are offered to the family of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the other victims of today's tragic shooting in Arizona. On behalf of Todd and my family, we all pray for the victims and their families, and for peace and justice.”
Giffords, who began serving in Congress in 2007, has nearly 6,800 followers on Twitter.
In a tweet that appears to have been posted within 24 hours of the shooting, Giffords mourned the death of Toi, a “wonderful waitress” at Char’s Thai Restaurant in Tucson. The tweet seems to indicate that Gifford had dinner at the restaurant with her husband, astronaut Capt. Mark Kelly.
Before that, Giffords thanked American Airlines via Twitter for “another uneventful trip” back to Tucson. She had been in Washington, D.C., for the opening of this year’s congressional session. “Home sweet home,” Giffords wrote.
In a previous post, Giffords tweeted Jan. 7 that she was about to appear on Fox News to discuss her priorities for the 112th session of Congress.
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