Skydive part of shooting remembrance
TUCSON — In the three years since she was severely injured in a mass shooting at a political event, Gabrielle Giffords has made an impressive recovery, learned to walk again and founded a national political organization. On Wednesday, while others gathered for bell-ringing and flagraising ceremonies, she marked the anniversary by skydiving.
The former Arizona congresswoman waved and blew kisses to a crowd at a skydiving site between Phoenix and Tucson after landing without injury. She described the jump as a wonderful experience.
Giffords’ husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, posted a picture of her landing on his Twitter account.
“Happy she’s safe. So proud of her bravery,” he wrote.
Jimmy Hatch, a former Navy SEAL who accompanied Giffords, said she was the least nervous person on the plane.
Hatch said the group held hands and formed a circle shortly after exiting the aircraft and then made a line with Giffords in the middle. The entire skydive lasted about a minute, he said.
“It’s pretty incredible,” he said. “They did a little moment of silence at the drop zone. The emotion was really heavy. ... She’s a testimony to making the best of what you have.”
The 2011 mass shooting in Tucson left six people dead and injured 13 others, including Giffords.
About 100 residents of the city attended a ceremony on Wednesday outside the University of Arizona Medical Center, where the injured were treated.
Abell was rung once for each of the six people killed and the 13 wounded. A pastor also read a prayer and then a moment of silence followed at the event, one of several planned in the city.
Apost on her Facebook page says Giffords has regained movement in her right arm but still struggles to speak and walk.
She has become a leader of Americans for Responsible Solutions, a national organization she founded with her husband to rival the pro-gun lobby.
The group struggled to bring about any major changes at the federal and state level in its first year, but the couple are confident they have laid the groundwork for success in future election cycles.
In an opinion piece for the New York Times on Wednesday, Giffords wrote about her struggles to recover, calling it “gritty, painful, frustrating work, every day.”
“I had planned to spend my 40s continuing my public service and starting a family. I thought that by fighting for the people I cared about and loving those close to me, I could leave the world a better place. And that would be enough,” she wrote. “Instead, I’ve spent the past three years learning how to talk again, how to walk again.”