On a clear January morning in Casas Adobes, Arizona, nine-year-old Christina-Taylor Green accompanied a neighbor to a 'Congress on Your Corner' event hosted by U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords. The event, held on January 8, 2011, in a Safeway supermarket parking lot, was meant to be an exercise in civic engagement for the young girl, who had recently been elected to her school's student council and had a burgeoning interest in politics.
Born on September 11, 2001, she was already a child of a national tragedy and had been featured in a book about children born on that day. Her life, full of promise and a passion for her country, was tragically cut short in a sudden burst of violence that shattered the community and the nation.
The bright Saturday was pierced by the sound of gunfire when a 22-year-old man named Jared Lee Loughner opened fire on the crowd. He first targeted and shot Representative Giffords at point-blank range before indiscriminately firing at others who had gathered. In the ensuing chaos, nineteen people were shot. Christina-Taylor Green was among those hit and was the youngest of the six people who lost their lives in the attack. She was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. The attack also claimed the lives of five other people, including a federal judge, and left thirteen others wounded, including Giffords, who was critically injured.
Jared Lee Loughner, a Tucson man with a history of disruptive behavior and a fixation on Representative Giffords, was tackled by bystanders at the scene and taken into custody. There was initially a question of a second person of interest, but this individual was later identified as the cab driver who had transported Loughner to the location and was cleared of any involvement. Federal charges were quickly filed against Loughner, including the attempted assassination of a member of Congress. After being found competent to stand trial following treatment for schizophrenia, he pleaded guilty to 19 charges. In November 2012, Loughner was sentenced to seven consecutive life terms plus 140 years in prison without the possibility of parole, bringing a legal conclusion to the tragic event that ended the life of a young girl with a bright future.
