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.)