TUCSON, Ariz. — For the first time since she was shot there a year ago, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) today returned to site of the Tucson, Ariz., mass shooting where six people died and another 13 were wounded.
“Gabby just visited the Safeway for the 1st time since 1/8/11. It’s been a tough year, but we’re lucky to have so many people standing w/us,” her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, posted on Twitter on Saturday afternoon.
Giffords arrived back in Tucson yesterday two days before a ceremony to mark the one-year anniversary of the shooting, in which a gunman opened fire at a public meeting she was holding with constituents outside the Safeway on Jan. 8, 2011.
Six people were killed and thirteen people, including Giffords, were wounded.
Yesterday, Giffords dedicated a permanent memorial in her Tucson office to her former staff member Gabe Zimmerman, who died in the shooting.
Today, a walk on a hiking trail near Tucson was renamed in honor of Zimmerman, myFOXphoenix.com reported.
Giffords and Kelly made a surprise appearance at the ceremony.
A picture from Giffords’ Facebook page shows her and Kelly stopping at the Gabe Zimmerman Trail Head, at Davidson Canyon, to read about Zimmerman’s legacy.
Zimmerman’s mother guided the couple along the trail.
The Congresswoman is also expected to attend a candlelight vigil to be held at the University of Arizona at 6:30pm local time Sunday.