Breaking all over, so far her condition is critical, but she is still alive.

“Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head by a gunman at a public event in Tucson on Saturday. There are conflicting reports about whether she was killed.

The Pima County, Ariz., sheriff’s office told member station KJZZ the 40-year-old Democrat was killed. At least nine other people, including members of her staff, were injured.

Giffords, who was re-elected to a third term in November, was hosting a “Congress on Your Corner” event at a Safeway in northwest Tucson when a gunman ran up and started shooting, according to Peter Michaels, news director of Arizona Public Media.

Giffords was talking to a couple when the suspect ran up and fired indiscriminately from about four feet away, Michaels said.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) poses with House Speaker John Boehner on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

The suspect ran off and was tackled by a bystander. He was taken into custody. Witnesses described him as in his late teens or early 20s.

Right now we don’t know the motivation. It’s time for prayer for Rep. Giffords and to then we’ll ascertain the rest. According to Reuters she’s in surgery at this time. Additionally it’s now known that at least 12 were also wounded, unknown how many mortally.

UPDATE: According to ABC News, report two have been confirmed dead, one being a staffer of Rep. Giffords. Additionally one child was hit by the gunfire. Meanwhile MSNBC is already speculating at it being “premeditated”, based on the report that the shooter was carrying a semi-automatic weapon.

Wire reports also have it that a federal judge was also killed.

Giffords tweeted this just before the event.

According to KVOA Tucson, 6 are dead, 12 injured.

UPDATE: Unbelievable, Matt Yglesias is already beginning with the political incriminations.

Fox News is reporting on a “possible” second subject according to authorities. Also an official confirmation that 19 were shot, five have died, Rep. Giffords is still alive but her condition is “gave”.

UPDATE: Here is a live stream via KVOA.

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin, Gateway Pundit with more.

News conference at 1:30pm Mountain time from the Tucscon hospital to come.

Lots of emails coming in to this link, from the Daily Kos, where a poster wrote a few days ago, http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2011/1/6/933828/-My-CongressWOMAN-voted-against-Nancy-Pelosi!-And-is-now-DEAD-to-me! (link is dead, Kos removed it).

Here is the screen capture.

Via Fox News, here friend State Senator Linda Lopez, she’s hinting this being the responsibility of Tea Party activists, sheesh!

UPDATE: Watching the Sheriff (Democrat) during the news conference, giving a political speech about vitriol and “talk show hosts” and calming down the rehtoric, pretty much disgusting. It’s apparent that there was no political motivation that the subject was mentally disturbed.

Hasn’t stopped Paul Krugman at the Ny Times from speculating. Seems though that the shooter, Jared Loughner, was far from a Tea Partier.

“In a MySpace profile, Loughner said “My favorite interest was reading, and I studied grammar. Conscience dreams were a great study in college.”
He lists among his favorite books “Mein Kampf” and “The Communist Manifesto”. But he also includes a broad variety of other titles, including: “Animal Farm,” “Brave New World,” “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”.”

UPDATE: Most likely the best commentary – and slap in the face – to those on the left politicizing this tragedy.