Shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Following Inclusion on Sarah Palin's 'Hit List'

Giffords, who has been in Congress since 2006 and is Arizona's first Jewish representative, is married to astronaut Mark Kelly.

(Click for that story.) In March of last year, her Tucson office was vandalized the same day the House voted on health care reform, notes the New York Times. It also reports that at a similar public event she hosted in 2009, police removed a protester whose gun fell on the supermarket floor. She was one of 20 House Democrats targeted with gun sights on Sarah Palin's election map. More updates here.

U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head during a public event in Tucson this morning.

The Pima County Sheriff Paul Babeu told MSNBC Giffords is still alive but in very critical condition. A spokeswoman for the University Medical Center in Tuscon said in a CNN interview that the congresswoman was in surgery.