Attack on lawmakers stirs memories of Giffords shooting
PHOENIX (AP) - When Ron Barber saw the news that a gunman opened fire on Republican lawmakers practicing for a baseball game, he immediately was taken back to when he was yelling his wife's name and phone number while lying on a gurney. Pam Simon remembers lying on the ground unable to move after the bullet went through her wrist into her chest.
The attack Wednesday in Virginia that left Rep. Steve Scalise in critical condition brought back painful memories for survivors of another shooting six years ago involving a member of Congress, former Rep. Gabby Giffords, who was shot in Tucson, Arizona.
"It obviously floods back all the memories from Jan. 8," Simon said. "It really brings it back. You have PTSD symptoms that kind of flare up in things like this."
FILE - In this Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011, file photo, Vera Rapcsak, foreground, and others hold up signs outside the office of U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz. in Tucson, Ariz., after Giffords and others were shot outside a Safeway grocery store as she was meeting constituents. Survivors of the mass shooting at the constituent event hosted by former U.S. Rep. Giffords said the attack on Wednesday, June 14, 2017, at a congressional baseball practice brought back painful memories of the day six were killed and 13 were injured in what was supposed to be a time for citizens to engage in the political process. (AP Photo/Chris Morrison, File)
Giffords was holding a constituent event outside a grocery store in 2011 when gunman Jared Loughner opened fire, killing six people, including a federal judge and a 9-year-old girl, and shooting Giffords in the head, severely wounding her.
Wednesday's shooting happened in a similarly public place - a popular park and baseball complex in Alexandria, Virginia. Scalise and other Republican lawmakers were practicing for a charity game when James T. Hodgkinson started shooting and chaos erupted.
Hodgkinson, who had a long history of lashing out at Republicans, was shot and killed by police. Loughner, who is serving life in prison, had posted several online ramblings about politics before he shot Giffords, a Democrat, although in the end no clear motive emerged.
Barber, who took over Giffords' seat in Congress before narrowly losing a re-election bid in 2014, said Wednesday's shooting was a reminder of how low political discourse has fallen.
"The vitriol, the harsh rhetoric, the personal attacks, they have escalated to a point where I hardly recognize our political process anymore. We have to stop this," Barber said.
For others, it prompted strong feelings about keeping weapons out of the hands of the wrong people.
"This isn't a political issue nor was the one in Tucson," said Ken Dorushka, who was shot as he shielded his wife from Loughner. "Anybody who would willingly take a gun and shoot somebody is unstable regardless of their political bent."
Giffords, who now advocates for tighter gun laws through her political action committee she founded with her husband, Mark Kelly, said she was heartbroken.
"This shooting is an attack on all who serve and on all who participate in our democracy," Giffords said in a written statement Wednesday. "May all Americans come together today with prayers for the survivors, love for their friends and family, and the courage to go about everyday making this country its best. Our nation is resilient, and we always come back stronger."
Six years ago, Sen. Jeff Flake had rushed from Phoenix to the hospital in Tucson when he heard Giffords was shot. On Wednesday, the Arizona Republican was at the baseball practice and tended to Scalise.
Flake said during an interview with CBS "This Morning" that he reached out to Giffords and Kelly.
"Those of us in Arizona remember well that situation a few years ago. So, I sure hope that this (brings) more unity, we need it around here," Flake said.
Simon said days like Wednesday don't feel normal because she gets a lot of calls from friends and reporters. She said she works through the difficult memories by getting together with loved ones and speaking about being positive and encouraging other survivors.
"The physical wounds fade but clearly the emotional ones are there. I have to disagree with the president when he made the statement that the congressman will have a complete recovery. No one who's been shot ever recovers emotionally," she said.
FILE - In this Jan. 8, 2012, file photo, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, left, leads the Pledge of Allegiance accompanied by her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, at the start of a memorial vigil remembering the victims and survivors of the shooting that wounded Giffords, and others, in Tucson, Ariz. Survivors of the Giffords shooting in 2011, say the latest attack brought back painful memories and a reminder that political discourse in America has gotten more and more vitriolic. Giffords said she was heartbroken over the latest attack on Wednesday, June 14, 2017. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)
FILE - In this Jan. 8, 2011, file photo, emergency personnel attend to a shooting victim outside a shopping center in Tucson, Ariz., where U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and others were shot as the congresswoman was meeting with constituents. Survivors of the mass shooting by Jared Loughner in 2011 say the latest attack at a congressional baseball practice on June 14, 2017, brought back painful memories of the day multiple people were killed and injured in what was supposed to be a time for citizens to engage in the political process. (AP Photo/James Palka, File)
FILE - In this Jan. 8, 2011, file photo, emergency personnel work at the scene where Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., and others were shot outside a Safeway grocery store in Tucson, Ariz. Survivors of the mass shooting at a constituent event hosted by former U.S. Rep. Giffords said Wednesday's attack at a congressional baseball practice brought back painful memories of the day six were killed and 13 were injured in what was supposed to be a time for citizens to engage in the political process. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)
FILE - In this Jan. 8, 2012, file photo, Mark Kelly leans on the shoulder of his wife, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, at a memorial vigil remembering the victims and survivors of the shooting that wounded Giffords, and others, in Tucson, Ariz. Survivors of the mass shooting at a constituent event on Jan. 8, 2011, hosted by former U.S. Rep. Giffords, say the latest attack at a congressional baseball practice on Wednesday, June 14, 2017, brought back painful memories of the day multiple people were killed and others injured in what was supposed to be a time for citizens to engage in the political process. Giffords said she was heartbroken over the latest attack. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)