Rep. Giffords Among 18 Shot at AZ Supermarket Today: Rep. Towns is "Shocked and Saddened"

Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head at close range today and wounded while hosting a public event outside a Safeway Supermarket in Tucson, according to Reuters.

Giffords, a 40-year-old Democrat, was hosting a "Congress on Your Corner" event and talking to constituents when the gunman moved his way through the small group gathered around her and began shooting.

CNN reports that Giffords is in intensive care, following surgery at the University of Arizona Hospital.

The gunman has been identified as 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner. He is in police custody, according to Reuters.

According to officials, Seventeen other people were shot at the scene: Twelve were injured; six are dead. One of the people fatally shot was a nine-year-old girl. Another was federal judge, John Roll, who had shown up just to say “hi."

"I am shocked and deeply saddened to hear of the tragic and senseless shooting that has left Rep. Gabrielle Giffords critically injured and taken the lives of at least 5 others,” said Congressman Ed Towns of the 10th District in Brooklyn, which includes Bedford-Stuyvesant. “Rep. Giffords is truly a coalition builder, and at the time of this shooting, she was doing what she was elected to do--working on behalf of her constituents.”

Giffords, who has been in Congress since 2006 and is Arizona's first Jewish representative, is married to astronaut Mark Kelly. Kelly flew in on a NASA jet to be by her side at the hospital.

Officials are still gathering information on Loughner. Reportedly, he lives with his parents and is described by neighbors as a "loner" and “anti-social.” According to Loughner’s MySpace page, he aligned loosely with the rhetoric of The Patriot Movement, and he lists “Mein Kampf” among his favorite books.

“I am pleased President Barack Obama is providing the necessary federal resources to assist Arizona state law enforcement officials to get to the bottom of this tragedy,” said Towns.

"My thoughts and prayers go out to Rep. Giffords, her family, as well as to the others who were injured and lost their lives. I remain prayerful that Rep. Giffords has a full and complete recovery, and that justice will prevail."