Yes, it’s been two years since that fateful day when Jared Lee Loughner chose to go to that Safeway at the SE corner of Oracle/Ina, and attempted to assassinate CD 8 Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. He ended up shooting 19 people, 6 fatally. And he wounded and injured a then-39 year old Congresswoman, who had to resign the job that she loved after a year of recovery. She now walks with a limp, uses an arm brace on her right arm, has become left handed, and is partially blind in her right eye.

Clearly, Jared Loughner was mentally ill, and pled guilty to these crimes. He is being treated in a mental hospital where he will serve the remainder of his days, as his life sentences have no possibility of parole.

What have we as a community learned from this horrendous mass shooting, right here in our midst? Almost all of us knew someone in that shooting. I was personally acquainted with Gabby, having worked on her campaigns. I knew her Outreach Director Gabe Zimmerman, who was struck down on that sidewalk. I knew aide Pam Simon, who was also shot but recovered. I know now Ron Barber who was shot twice that day, and who as her District Director stepped up to the plate and ran for Congress in CD 8 and CD 2 upon Gabby’s endorsement and request. My professor husband knew Gabby as well, and had taught Suzi Hileman who was shot and injured that day. She was the neighbor who had taken nine-year old Christina Taylor-Green to that Congress on your Corner event, and Christina died that day.

Clearly Loughner was ill, but why didn’t people notice enough? Pima Community College had expelled him due to mental problems but he didn’t get counseling help which he clearly needed. He was living with his parents, Randy and Amy Loughner, but they couldn’t or didn’t get help for him as he was over 18 years old. And where did he (an unemployed 22 year old) get the hundreds of dollars to pay for the Glock 9 gun and the two magazine clips he was captured with? I had worked as a board member for 3 years with Amy who manages Agua Caliente Park out east in Pima County. And I have also worked for a year with Gabe’s mother Emily Nottingham on the Casitas on Broadway board. Two mothers, two shattered lives.

Yes, we as a community have grieved over the past 2 years — a huge outpouring of sympathy and support at all the memorials — at Gabby’s former Swan/Pima office, at that Safeway on Oracle (where a permanent stone memorial was erected by the store), and at University Medical Center where most of the injured were taken to. Generous donations were made for the victims to help them recover, and to various foundations to help children & students in the names of the deceased.

Cactus garden by Wright Elem. School students at memorial outside of Congresswoman Giffords’ former district office at Pima/Swan, taken by Carolyn Classen

Now there are Beyond Tucson annual events to commemorate, heal, and move beyond the pain & horror of that day. Now people ring bells at 10:10 a.m.on January 8th when the shooting occurred, and now the politicians talk about gun control especially for firearms with a capacity to be used for mass killing. Also now there are multi-faith services in Tucson bringing together people of Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Baha’i faiths.

Since then there have been attempts at more civility in public discourse, and two foundations created expressly for that purpose. We all remember January 8, 2011 and hopefully we will remember to watch out for danger signals in isolated, depressed young men, to lobby for better mental health services, and more effective gun control to prevent criminals and mentally sick from obtaining firearms.

Hopefully we have become better people after this mass shooting of January 8, 2011. And if you have any creative ideas about what type of permanent memorial should be erected, click here for my previous post about the January 8th Memorial Foundation.

photo courtesy of Salpointe Catholic High School

Salpointe unites community in prayer to remember the anniversary of the Tucson shootings (press release)

Tucson, Ariz. – Salpointe Catholic High School will host a prayer service to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Tucson Tragedy.The service will take place at Salpointe Catholic High School, 1545 E. Copper Street, Monday, January 9 promptly at 8:20 a.m.

Students, faculty, staff and community will gather hand-in-hand around the school’s track to pray for those lost, the families left behind, and our Tucson community as it continues to heal. The public is welcome to attend.

“That day, January 8, 2011, was surreal. Something of that magnitude happens in other cities, bigger cities, but not in Tucson. I think this tragedy is still very fresh in so many minds. It is a harsh reminder that our world is not fixed. This remembrance is a reminder that despite uncertainty and loss, we are strong when we come together,” said Gail Urbanski, director of campus ministry at Salpointe.

The service will include prayer, a poem reading, and a reflection.
“This tragedy had a deep impact on our community. Several alumni and current students’ families were involved, and was it a very tragic and personal loss,” said Kay Sullivan, Salpointe president. “The prayer service provides a dedicated place and time for our community to continue healing together.”

Federal Judge John Roll, a Lancer alumnus from the class of 1965, was among those fatally wounded. He is survived by his wife, Maureen O’Connor Roll ‘67, and their children Patrick ‘92, Robert ‘88, and Christopher.

Other members of the Salpointe community were injured during the gunman’s rage: Mary Reed, the mother of Emma McMahon ’11, shot three times as she shielded her children from the flying bullets; Pam Simon, mother of Fritz ’93 and Summer ’96; Col. Bill Badger, father of Christian ’07; and Ron Barber, husband of Nancy Richardson Barber ’64, brother of Ethel ‘Marie’ Barber Fox ’77, brother-in-law of Judy Richardson Tully ’66, Peggy Richardson Sterner ’69, Alice Richardson Morkert ’77, uncle of Sara Tully Lev ’90, Laura Tully Zwickl ’93, Karen Tully ’95, Megan Sterner ’99, Lindsey Morkert ’03, Grace Morkert ’06 and Steven Morkert ’09.

Nancy Bowman, R.N., and David Bowman, M.D., parents of Troy ’08 and Brenna ’09 were shopping at Safeway and were first responders to those injured in the rampage.
Dr. Martin Weinand, neurosurgeon and father of Michael ’07, Lauren ’08 and Megan ’08, was on-call at University Medical Center on the day of the tragedy; he was on the team that performing brain surgery and saved the life of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

Contacts:

Kay Sullivan
President
Salpointe Catholic High School
520-547-5878
development@salpointe.org
www.salpointe.org

Gail Urbanski
Director of Campus Ministry
Salpointe Catholic High School
520-547-4448
gurbanski@salpointe.org

About Salpointe Catholic High School:
Since opening its doors in 1950, Salpointe Catholic has enjoyed a distinguished reputation for its strong curriculum, competitive athletics, highly-acclaimed fine arts, faith-strengthening religious program and spirited co-curricular activities. Salpointe is a Catholic, Carmelite college-preparatory high school enrolling 1,130 students. The school is certified by the Western Catholic Educational Association and accredited as a college-preparatory school by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

As most of you know by now, it’s been a year since that shooting rampage at the NW Safeway (Ina/Oracle). Chief U.S. District Judge John Roll died that day from the gunshot wounds. A very moving Special Court Session in memory of Judge Roll was held on Friday, January 6 at the TCC Music Hall. Particularly eloquent were the closing remarks by Honorable District Court Judge Raner Collins who knew Judge Roll for over 35 years and he spoke highly of Salpointe Catholic High’s influence on John Roll, who read the Bible daily and who “tried to walk humbly with his God.” Two other District Court judges (Robert Broomfield and Jennifer Zipps) and his last law clerk Michael Waits spoke of how humble and exemplary Judge Roll was, and his “unswerving sense of justice”.

Both Congresswoman Gifford’s aides Ron Barber (District Director) and Pam Simon (Community outreach coordinator) were shot twice that day. Congresswoman Giffords (shot once in the head) and Barber are still recovering from their gunshot wounds. Mary Reed was shot 3 times and has recovered, along with Pam Simon.

Dr. Bowman and his nurse wife Nancy are featured in the “Together We Heal” PBS documentary broadcasting tonight on KUAT Channel 6, at 6 p.m. Click here for blog. Ret. Army Col. Bill Badger was one of the two men who tackled shooter Jared Loughner down at that Safeway, and is one of 12 Americans featured in the December 2010/January 2011 issue of AARP magazine.

Our prayers for full recovery to those injured on January 8, 2011, and condolences again to Judge Roll’s family.

“We Reflect, We Mend, We Mourn
Join us for Stories of Healing”

January 5th at 8 p.m. and again, January 8th at 6 p.m. on PBS-HD 6 (KUAT Channel 6)

Press release from Arizona Public Media:

Tucson, Ariz. – December 19, 2011 – We reflect, we mend, we mourn – January 8th, 2012 marks the one-year anniversary of the tragic shooting of nineteen people at a Congress on Your Corner event in Tucson. On Thursday, January 5th at 8 p.m. and again on Sunday, January 8th at 6 p.m.

Arizona Public Media presents a one-hour special documentary, Together We Heal, a moving and thought-provoking program focusing on emotional healing, both individual and community-wide, over the past year. For many, grieving and healing have become on-going and consequential parts of their lives. Narrated by national correspondent, Savannah Guthrie, Together We Heal features 36 in-depth interviews with victims and their families, members of Congresswoman Giffords’ staff, and the doctors and nurses who treated them.

Together We Heal interviewees include John Green, Christina-Taylor Green’s father; Ross Zimmerman, Gabe Zimmerman’s father; Gabrielle Giffords’ staff members Ron Barber, Pam Simon, former staff member C. J. Karamargin and others; good Samaritans; staff members from the UAMC Trauma Center, Intensive Care Unit and UAMC Surgeons; and therapist Maggie Morton.

Together We Heal is all about the healing that has taken place from the perspective of individuals immediately impacted by the events of January 8th, 2011. As our community continues to heal, we would like to hear your story. We invite you to share your stories and remembrances. Go to www.azpm.org.

Together We Heal is written, directed and produced by AZPM’s Emmy® Award winner Tom Kleespie.

Credits:
Producer/Director/Writer: Tom Kleespie
Contributing Producers: Michael Chihak, Peter Michaels
Director of Photography: Martín Rubio
Narrator: Savannah Guthrie

About Tom Kleespie
Tom Kleespie is Senior Producer, Special Projects at Arizona Public Media. He’s traveled the deserts of the world for 19 seasons for his work on The Desert Speaks, airing on over 300 PBS stations nationally and the winner of multiple regional and national awards, including 24 Rocky Mountain Emmy® Awards. Kleespie also produced Unforgettable: The Korean War, Phoenix Mars Mission: Ashes to Ice and the follow-up program, Phoenix Mars Mission: Onto to Ice, Southwestern Gems: Our Desert National Parks and the Tucson Remembers series which included Tucson Remembers: The War Years, Tucson Remembers: The Battle for Europe, and Tucson Remembers: War in the Pacific and A Show of Courage.
Kleespie, a Tucson native, joined KUAT-TV 35 years ago as a member of the student production crew. Four years later, he became a full-time studio supervisor. He also did a four-year stint directing Arizona Illustrated, was a KUAT membership pledge producer, and worked for two years producing and directing for South Dakota Public Television.

About Savannah Guthrie
Savannah Guthrie is a native of Tucson, Arizona, and graduated from Amphitheater High School.
Guthrie received her undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of Arizona and was a student intern at AZPM. She received her Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center. Before joining Court TV (now truTV), Guthrie worked at NBC affiliates WRC-TV in Washington, D.C. as a reporter, KVOA-TV in Tucson, Arizona as a reporter/anchor, and at KMIZ-TV in Columbia, MO. Guthrie was named White House correspondent for NBC News. After substituting for both Meredith Vieira and Ann Curry on NBC’s Today, Guthrie became co-host of NBC’s Today alongside Natalie Morales and Al Roker, as well as NBC News Chief Legal Analyst. Guthrie was the commencement speaker for the University of Arizona’s 2011 graduation ceremony.

About AZPM
Arizona Public Media (AZPM) is a member-supported non-profit media organization based at the University of Arizona in Tucson, and is the trusted source of information that promotes thoughtful conversation and community collaboration. The organization offers six channels of television content, three channels of radio content, a robust lineup of online offerings, and community and educational outreach to residents in Southern Arizona and beyond. AZPM produces award-winning original television, radio and online content from its digital studios on the campus of the University of Arizona and is provided as a community service and educational resource. More information about AZPM, including program schedules and Video-on-Demand offerings, can be found online at www.azpm.org.

Media Contact: Sue DeBenedette, Marketing Manager
Tel: 520-621-5222 Mobile: 520-247-5883
sdebenedette@azpm.org
Follow us on: Twitter: @azpmnews
Facebook: facebook.com/azpublicmedia

Watch a short one minute, 39 seconds AZPM preview of this documentary here.

Carolyn’s note: I was fortunate enough to view a preview copy of this documentary, which is incredibly moving to hear the horror story related by those who were there at the Safeway on 1/8/11, esp. Dr. David Bowman and his nurse wife Nancy Bowman, who both aided the bleeding victims. Roger Salzgeber, one of the two men who tackled Loughner down says that “death just passed right over us” (as he and his wife Faith were standing in that line to speak with Congresswoman Giffords). The show highlights the physical & emotional healing after the shooting, with touching scenes of the memorials and interviews of the UMC Trauma staff. I’m even shown wearing my British Gillie hat at the UMC memorial, where I spent many days re-lighting candles and praying for the victims. I’ve known Gabby for years and also worked with Gabe Zimmerman, and had just met Pam Simon a month before this event. But time does heal wounds and our Tucson community has been changed forever by this mass shooting.

Watching this heart-felt documentary will indeed help us all reflect, mourn, mend, as the anniversary of 1/8/11 approaches. Together we can heal.