Giffords Marks 3rd Anniversary of Shooting With Skydive

Tucson ceremonies remember victims
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 8, 2014 5:30 PM CST
Giffords Marks 3rd Anniversary of Shooting With Skydive
Gabby Giffords blows kisses to the media, waves, and says, 'It was wonderful" as she describes her skydiving experience.   (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Gabby Giffords marked the third anniversary of being shot in the head in Tucson by, of all ways, skydiving. Elsewhere across the city, others gathered for bell-ringing and flag-raising ceremonies to remember the six killed and 13 injured—including the former Arizona congresswoman—on Jan. 8, 2011. Giffords waved and blew kisses to a crowd at a skydiving site between Phoenix and Tucson after landing. "Happy she's safe. So proud of her bravery," Giffords' husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, wrote on his Twitter account after the tandem jump with his wife strapped to a professional skydiver.

Jimmy Hatch, a former Navy SEAL who accompanied Giffords along with others, said the group held hands and formed a circle shortly after exiting the aircraft, then made a line with Giffords in the middle. "They did a little moment of silence at the drop zone," he said. "The emotion was really heavy. Then she smiled and said, 'Let's go.'" (In an op-ed, Giffords vowed to continue the fight for stricter gun laws.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X