The Arizona Daily Star, The Arizona Republic and USA TODAY will host an online event marking the 10th anniversary of the Tucson shootings that killed six people and injured 13, including former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
Giffords will speak at the event, along with emergency-room physician Dr. Randall Friese and survivors Daniel Hernandez, Mary Reed and Emma McMahon. Star Opinion Page Editor Sarah Garrecht Gassen will talk with survivor Patricia Maisch during the event about how many people touched by the shootings have refocused their pain into public service.
“The anniversary of the Tucson shooting is painful for myself and the community I’ve always called home,” Giffords, co-founder of Giffords: Courage to Fight Gun Violence, said in a written statement. “But I’ve never seen this as a day for looking back. I see it as a way to remember why we move forward.”
This live event is a celebration of the resiliency of the survivors and the community in the days, weeks and years after. The event is produced by the Storytellers Project, part of the USA Today Network. Through compelling stories, conversations and poetry, the hourlong online event will honor the losses while sharing insights and lessons relevant to all Americans today.
The event is scheduled for 4 p.m. Arizona time on Thursday, Jan. 7.
Register in advance at https://www.storytellersproject.com/all-events/ to get a reminder, or watch live at https://bit.ly/StorytellersProjectYT.
The online event will feature:
Images and audio of Pima County Sheriff's Department communications during the Jan. 8, 2011 shootings at the Safeway at Ina and Oracle north of Tucson. Produced by Rick Wiley / Arizona Daily Star
• Remarks from Giffords along with a conversation among Giffords, Fabiane Hirsch of the Aphasia Center of Tucson and Arizona Republic journalist Karina Bland about courage in the face of so much unknown, and progress that is not guaranteed.
• Maisch in conversation with Gassen, discussing how Maisch poured herself into advocacy as a means of recovery. On that day in 2011, she wrestled ammunition away from the shooter and stopped him from reloading his gun.
• A conversation between Dr. Randall Friese, who was working in the hospital’s emergency room and treated victims that day, and former Arizona Daily Star journalist Stephanie Innes, who is now at the Arizona Republic. Friese is now a state representative for Southern Arizona.
• A personal story from survivor and former Giffords intern Daniel Hernandez, who was at Giffords’ side that day and is now is a state representative for Southern Arizona.
• A personal story from survivors Mary Reed and her daughter Emma McMahon, then 17, who were targeted by the perpetrator.
“I think that this story is particularly resonant during this time where we are experiencing trauma as a nation,” said McMahon, 27, of Baltimore, whose mother covered her, taking three bullets, one of which is still lodged in Reed’s spine.
“I want to highlight that although a lot has changed in the last 10 years, some things haven’t,” she said. “Many Americans still face gun violence every day, not because they are in the wrong place at the wrong time but because guns can too easily fall into the wrong hands. I hope that my story can help spark change.”
2011 Tucson mass shooting victims
Christina-Taylor Green
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Killed: Christina-Taylor Green, age 9.
Judge John Roll
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Killed: Federal Judge John Roll, District of Arizona
Gabe Zimmerman
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Killed: Gabe Zimmerman, aide to Rep. Giffords.
Phyllis Schneck
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Killed: Phyllis Schneck
Dorothy Morris
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Killed: Dorothy Morris
Dorwan Stoddard
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Killed: Dorwan Stoddard, 76
Gabrielle Giffords
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U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, pictured after treatment for a gunshot wound to the head.
Bill Badger
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Bill Badger, a retired Army National Guard colonel, was grazed by a bullet on the back of his head yet he was one of the men who tackled Jared Lee Loughner and prevented him from reloading his gun. "I'm a little more jumpy than I was before," he said. "If I hear, you know, a door slam or something, or a loud noise, why - you jump."
Ron Barber
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Ron Barber, director for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' district office, sits in his Tucson office on his first day back to work in the July 5, 2011 file photo. It appears more and more like Barber will run for her seat in the special election.
Ken and Carol Dorushka
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Ken Dorushka was shot in the forearm as he shielded his wife, Carol. "I find myself watching people a little more closely than I used to. I saw a guy in the grocery store walking around with a gun on his hip, and that disturbed me tremendously."
Eric Fuller
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Eric Fuller, who was shot twice, feared he would be unable to play tennis, but he has resumed playing. However, his emotional recovery has not been so smooth. He was taken for a mental-health evaluation at Palo Verde Hospital, where he spent several days, after disrupting a town-hall-style television program in the aftermath of the shootings.
Randy Gardner
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Randy Gardner was shot through the right foot, just below the ankle, as he chatted with retiree Phyllis Schneck, who died in the shooting. "The doctors told me it was miraculous it didn't hit any bone," Gardner said.
Suzi Hileman
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Suzi Hileman touches Pima County Sheriff's Deputy Gilbert Caudillo, who helped Hileman after she was shot in the chest and right hip. "He saved my life," she said of Caudillo. "I'm only here because of that."
George Morris
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George Morris was shot in his back and lower left leg as he tried in vain to shield his wife, Dorothy, from a spray of gunfire. "This is someone I fell madly in love with when I was 16," he said. "I miss her terribly."
Mary Reed
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Mary Reed was shot in the arms and back as she shielded her 17-year-old daughter, Emma McMahon. She also suffered shrapnel wounds to the face and leg. Reed's whole family - her husband, Tom McMahon, and their two teenagers - was in line to see Giffords when gunfire erupted. "They can never forget it," Reed said. "But I'm hoping they heal."
Pam Simon
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Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' community outreach coordinator, Pam Simon, was shot in the chest and through the right wrist. The bullet that entered her chest lodged in her upper hip. "I am very lucky. The doctors are still scratching their heads," Simon said. "Quite miraculously, other than chipping my pelvic bone, the bullet did not damage any internal organs."
Mavanell "Mavy" Stoddard
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Mavanell "Mavy" Stoddard was shot three times in the legs. Stoddard also lost her husband, Dorwan "Dory" Stoddard, who died as he shielded Mavy from the gunfire. "I have to go to my good memories of a wonderful man and not dwell on the bad," Stoddard said.
Jim Tucker
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Jim Tucker, pictured with Giffords and his wife, Doris, moments before the shooting, was shot in the calf and the the right collarbone. The bullet that hit his collarbone split apart and lodged in various parts of his back. One fragment cracked a vertebra. The photo shows government working the way it's supposed to work, he said. "She was doing the thing she does best. She listens to constituents." Doris wasn't injured in the attack.
