He says it still haunts him
GREEN VALLEY, Ariz. (AP) – U.S. Rep. Ron Barber said the January 2011 mass shooting in Tucson that killed six and forced his predecessor, Gabrielle Giffords, to resign because of brain injuries, haunts him every Saturday.
Speaking Saturday in Green Valley to commemorate the shooting's two-year anniversary, Barber said that he remembers the shooting every Saturday at the exact time it began, at 10:11 a.m.
"I actually reflect a lot on Saturday morning, no matter what Saturday it is,'' said Barber. "I reflect on it because It's often – whether I'm in Washington or whether I'm in Tucson – I wake up in the morning on Saturday, I look at the clock, and I remember what we were doing almost two years ago.''
The speech was posted on YouTube by La Posada, a continued care retirement community.
It was Barber's first comments at one of two scheduled events Saturday as part of a movement started by the family of Gabe Zimmerman, who was one of the six people killed in the attack. Giffords was shot in the head and later resigned from Congress. Twelve others were injured, including Barber, who was Giffords' district director.
Jared Lee Loughner, the gunman in the shooting, was sentenced in November to life in prison for the shooting.
