Gabby Giffords Was Shot in the Head in 2011 — This Is the Man Behind the Crime

The year 2011 was a life-changing one for Rep. Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords. Her life was nearly taken during a meet-and-greet in the parking lot of a grocery store in Tucson, Ariz., when bullets rang out, striking her and several others. Six people died that day, and 13 more were injured but survived. The semi-automatic handgun used in the attack was fired by a 22-year-old man, who is now serving a life sentence in prison.

That year is one Giffords often reflects on, especially on Sept. 11, the birthday of 9-year-old Christina-Taylor Green, who tragically died while waiting to meet Giffords. She would have turned 24 in 2025. With this anniversary coming just a day after the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, and Giffords recognizing the day, many may have forgotten the man who aimed the weapon and successfully shot Giffords in the head on Jan. 8, 2011. Here’s who he is and where he is now.

The man who shot Gabby Giffords in 2011 in the parking lot of a Tucson grocery store is Jared Lee Loughner. The bullet pierced her head, shattering her skull as it passed through, according to her campaign website. Fortunately, because the bullet struck above her left eye rather than the right, she survived, though it affected her speech and reading. Considering what she endured, Giffords is doing remarkably well today.

As for Loughner, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

As part of his plea agreement, Loughner admitted to arriving at the event outside a Safeway grocery store with a loaded semi-automatic pistol and three additional magazines containing 60 rounds of ammunition, with the goal of killing Giffords and other political figures attending the event.

Loughner, now 32, has been held at the Federal Medical Center in Rochester, Minn., since around 2015. He was previously ordered to serve his sentence at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Mo., according to Tucson News Now.

Also through the federal plea deal, Loughner pleaded guilty to multiple charges connected to the shooting, including the attempted assassination of Giffords, the murder and attempted murder of federal employees, and the killing of innocent civilians. He was handed seven consecutive life sentences plus 140 years, with sentencing taking place in November 2012.

While the death penalty was considered in Loughner’s case, Attorney General Eric Holder explained in 2012, “In making the determination not to seek the death penalty, I took into consideration the views of the victims and survivor families, the recommendations of the prosecutors assigned to the case, and the applicable law,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Following the shooting carried out by Loughner, speculation arose that he was tied to the white nationalist group American Renaissance. However, Politico later debunked that claim, and the group’s founder and editor, Jared Taylor, also denied any connection to Loughner when contacted by Fox News reporter James Rosen, according to Politico.

While Loughner’s actions certainly appeared politically charged, his parents later spoke out after the incident, admitting, “We don’t understand why this happened,” per ABC News.