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Doctors: Giffords Will Survive; Second Suspect Sought in Connection to Shooting in Arizona

Aired January 08, 2011 - 23:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DON LEMON, HOST: I'm Don Lemon at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. A second person is being sought right now in today's mass shooting at an Arizona supermarket. Six people were killed, including a federal judge. Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle "Gabby" Giffords was among the dozens of people who were wounded.

She was meeting with constituents about noon, Eastern time, 10:00 a.m., local time, when a gunman stepped up and began firing at very close range. Despite a bullet passing through Giffords' brain, doctors believe that she will survive.

Six others, however, were not so lucky. Among them, Federal Judge John M. Roll, who was about to mark his 20th year on bench. Sheriff Clarence Dupnik says Roll had just attended mass nearby and stopped by to say hello to Giffords. The sheriff said it appeared the gunman was targeting Giffords, and that the judge was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Twelve people, including the congresswoman, were wounded in that attack. Bystanders tackled the alleged gunman. He's identified as 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner. A nine millimeter handgun was recovered. A second individual is now being sought as a person of interest.

Let's go right now to CNN's Ted Rowlands. He is joining us now from Arizona, in front of the hospital. Ted, what are you learning?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, the congresswoman is recovering after surgery. She suffered one gunshot to the head. Doctors here say the bullet went in and out of her head and went through her brain. After surgery, she came out of anesthesia about 1:15, 1:30 local time here. Doctors say they were very encouraged because she was able to follow commands.

They would ask her to do something and she understood it and was able to do it. They say that was a huge piece of the puzzle here. And they were very encouraged. The next 24 to 48 hours are critical because of possible swelling in the brain. She is in critical condition, along with five other patients in critical condition here.

Ten of the injured were brought to this facility in Tucson. Five are critical, five are serious. The congresswoman, obviously, one of the victims. Other people within her organization, including her chief of staff, also going through surgery today. You can see outside there's a group of folks here at a vigil. And they have been out here pretty much all day praying for the victims. We talked to one individual, Steve Farley, who was in the hospital throughout the day. He talked about the fact that people around her, including one of her staff members, did everything they could to save her life.

He said that the chief of staff actually held his hand over her head as they were coming to the hospital her, stopped the bleeding. He said that he ran into him. He was covered in blood, but he may have actually helped to save her life.

Bottom line here for the congresswoman, Don, next 24 hours, very critical.

LEMON: I've been in that position many times before, after talking so much all evening. Ted, listen, it's 8:00 there. Are you finding -- and there's a vigil going on outside the hospital. Are you finding more people showing up? Or are starting to leave now for that vigil right behind you?

ROWLANDS: It's been interesting. The numbers have sort of -- people have come and gone. For a while there -- here -- you can see right now, there's a couple dozen. It's gotten very cold here after the sun went down. But for a while there, there was in excess of 200, 300 people here, which covered the entire piece of lawn here outside of the hospital.

They all had candles. A lot of the folks were constituents. Some were friends of the congresswoman. But people were really moved to come out here and basically sit and pray as she fights for her life.

We now have a little bit of sound we want to play for you, Don. This is talking about that young man who was at the scene who works for the congresswoman. He's also a nurse. And he used his skills to help save her life. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE FARLEY, REP. GABRIELLE GIFFORDS STAFFER: Daniel is an amazing person. He's my campaign manager. He was also a trained nurse. He was interning for Gabby and staffing that event. He said that when he was in the back of the room, he heard shots in the front. He rushed up to see what happened and saw that Gabby was on the floor.

He was able to use his nurse training, and snap right into it, and was able to apply pressure to the wound and keep her active and alert until the ambulance came about ten minutes later, he said. Then he rode with her in the ambulance to the hospital.

I just really think he's one of the heroes here, because I think it's possible that that swift thinking and his training could have helped to save her life.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ROWLANDS: Obviously a huge factor possibly in saving her life. Again, doctors do have encouraging news, at least tonight, in terms of her progress coming out of surgery.

There are other victims, however, who are fighting for their lives. This is the same facility, Don, that that nine-year-old girl was brought to. She was pronounced dead at this facility. They were unable to save her life.

A lot of people out here praying, a lot of family members inside also praying, and hoping for good news in the days and hours to come for their loved ones.

LEMON: And we are praying. And many other people around the country and around the world are praying as well. Thank you, Ted Rowlands.

Police named 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner as the suspected shooter. Tonight, authorities are looking for another person of interest because the sheriff says he may not have acted alone.

Let's go to our homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve. Jeanne, good evening. What have you found out?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Let me tell you that law enforcement is still very much in the investigative mode on this case. They are still on the scene of the shootings, collecting evidence, learning what they can there.

They want to interview witnesses. Of course, many of them are in the hospital, and at this point in time, not able to talk to them. They are also hoping to execute search warrants of the suspect's home and of his vehicle. No word from law enforcement officials I'm speaking to at this hour as to whether they have gotten those search warrants at this point in time and been able to execute them.

Much of what we've learned about the suspect himself has come from the sheriff of Pima County, who described him as a 22-year-old student at Pima College. He said that he had had some run-ins with the police. At least one of them appeared to have involved some threats, he said threats to kill someone. But he wouldn't say who that individual or who those people were.

The sheriff described this individual as unbalanced and unstable, indicated that there was some indication that possibly he intended to commit suicide after these shootings. Here's a little bit more from the sheriff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF CLARENCE DUPNIK, PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA: We're not convinced that he acted alone. There's some reason to believe that he came to this location with another individual. And there's reason to believe that the other individual in some way be involved.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MESERVE: Now, I've spoken to another law enforcement source who says there is a piece of evidence indicating there was another individual who they would like to talk to who was near the scene of the shootings. But according to my law enforcement source, they do not know if this individual arrived with the shooter. They do not know if he knew the shooter, had any connection at all with the shooter. He was in the vicinity.

It is someone they are trying to find, who they want to talk to. At this hour, they have not yet been able to locate this individual.

LEMON: Jeanne, is it that -- is it that fine line between a suspect and a person of interest? This is a person of interest, they just want to speak to?

MESERVE: Well, the law enforcement person I'm talking to I'm not even sure would go so far as to call him a person of interest. It's someone they want to talk to, they want to question, they want to learn more about him, what he was doing in that vicinity. And they're trying to discern if he had any connection.

Of course, in addition to talking to him, they're talking to other people who were in the area who might have seen them together, to help build a relationship, if one exist, between the two.

LEMON: Gotcha. You were going on to say something else when I interrupted you. Sorry, go ahead.

MESERVE: Yes. We've been looking, of course, on the Internet for some more clues beyond what we have heard from the sheriff about this individual. There are a lot of postings on Youtube from Loughner, some of them quite hard to decipher. You're looking at some of them right there. Most of them are like this, a black background with white lettering.

A lot of it exercises in deductive reasoning that have to do with some anti-government sentiments, concerns about currency. He does mention politics and specifically District Eight. There's one reference here to the United States military in which he says that he went to a military entrance processing station in Phoenix, got a mini Bible, didn't write his belief on his Army application? The recruiter wrote on the application none.

Our colleague, Barbara Starr, has confirmed from the U.S. Army that yes, he did apply to the U.S. Army. He was not accepted. They are not telling us why for privacy reasons.

In addition, Don, there is on his web postings a list of his favorite books. And it's both interesting, illuminating and perplexing. Amongst the political tomes that are on here, "Mein Kampf" and "The Communist Manifesto."

But in addition to that, there's a lot of children's literature. There's a lot of fantasy literature, things like "Alice in Wonderland," "Fahrenheit 451," "Peter Pan." But also some standard political stuff that most us read while we were in school, "Animal Farm," "Brave New World," "The Odyssey," things of that sort.

So we're trying to get a better beat on this guy. But you can bet law enforcement is also trying to get a better beat on exactly who he is. At this point in time, our understanding is he is not cooperating with authorities. He is not talking.

LEMON: Good information on this 22-year-old suspect. Jeanne Meserve, our Homeland Security correspondent, thank you, Jeanne.

Congresswoman Giffords was conducting one of her "Congress On Your Corner" sessions when the mass shooting broke out. She representing the area where she was born, in fact.

Now, here's some more background on Gabrielle Giffords. She was born in 1970 and graduated from University High in Tucson, and Scripts College. She earned a Fulbright scholarship to Mexico in 1996. She was elected as a Democrat to the Arizona House in 2000 and served in the state legislature through 2005.

Then in 2006, she won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Her official website proclaims Giffords as one of the most centrist lawmakers in Congress, concentrating on deficit reduction and promoting business.

Giffords husband is Astronaut Mark Kelly. He is scheduled to be the commander of the final planned mission in the American space shuttle program. Kelly's brother is also an astronaut who is right now serving on the International Space Station.

The shooting sent shock waves through Washington. Capital Police urged all lawmakers to take precautions to ensure their safety. There's also important political fallout tonight about this story. Controversial votes, including the repeal of health care in the House, are off the table for now, at least.

So here's what CNN's senior Congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, told our very own Wolf Blitzer just a short time ago. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The brand-new Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor just released a statement saying that they are no longer going to have a vote as was scheduled to repeal health care reform. That was supposed to be on Wednesday. That is now postponed, as is the rest of the legislative agenda.

We just got another statement from the Democratic Whip now in the House, Steny Hoyer, saying that any legislation -- all legislation or action that will come before the House will only have to do with this tragedy, in his words, in Arizona. So that is --

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: But they're not going into formal recess. They will remain in session, but they're not going to deal with any substantive legislation, at least for the time being?

BASH: Substantive and controversial legislation, that's correct. It looks like they're --

BLITZER: That vote was scheduled for Wednesday to repeal the health care law?

BASH: Correct, the vote was scheduled for Wednesday. That is no longer happening. If they do anything at all, it will to commemorate and perhaps pass resolutions and talk about the tragedy in Arizona. That's one thing.

The other thing is we just got the first official word from the House Sergeant at Arms. Of course, the Sergeant at Arms is the one who's in charge of security for the House.

BLITZER: That's Capitol Hill Police.

BASH: Capitol Hill Police. On the house side, we haven't heard from Bill Livingood yet. But now he have a statement where he's talking about the fact that, as we heard earlier, that there's no indication that the incident is part of a larger threat against members of Congress.

But very interesting, this is also giving instructions to other members. We were reporting earlier, we were hearing from other members of Congress that they are concerned, and aides saying that they're not sure what their bosses should be doing. Should they be going out and doing events or not?

This just says that if they go out, a local law enforcement agency should be informed of the address for the district office, of the address for the members' residence, and that if they have any even iota of an indication that there could be anything wrong, that they should contact them immediately.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And we should report here that House Speaker John Boehner has scheduled a public statement for tomorrow morning. The House Speaker speaking out tomorrow morning. He will make a public statement.

Among the others killed in what should have been a routine event today was Congresswoman Giffords' director of community outreach. His name is Gabe Zimmerman. He specialized in the very type of gathering where he and 17 others were gunned down.

He was 30 years old, a former social worker, and engaged to be married. Giffords' press aide tells CNN that Zimmerman oversaw the thousands of requests for help that came into Giffords' office from constituents.

The youngest victim of the Tucson attacks was nine years old. The "Arizona Republic" newspaper says she was just elected to her school student council and was invited to Giffords' event by a neighbor who thought she would find it interesting.

Next, why the sheriff investigating this crime says Arizona has become a hotbed for prejudice and bigotry.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Welcome back to our breaking news continuing coverage of the mass killing in Arizona. The motive for the mass shootings in Arizona remains a mystery. But observers can't ignore the suspect's online rage against government, and how Arizona seems to be the place for intense political conflict. The sheriff of Pima County, where the shooting happened, has definitely noticed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DUPNIK: When you look at unbalanced people, how they are -- how they respond to the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government -- the anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous.

And unfortunately, Arizona, I think, has become sort of the capital. We have become the Mecca for prejudice and bigotry. People tend to pooh-pooh this business about all the vitriol that we hear inflaming the American public by people who make a living off of doing that. That may be free speech, but it's not without consequences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The sheriff says in his 50 years as an officer, nothing has shocked him more than what unfolded today. Rodney Glassman is a former vice mayor of Tucson. He's also a close personal friend of Congresswoman Giffords'. And he joins us now from Tucson.

Listen, sorry what happened to your colleague and to your friend. I want to get your take on what the sheriff said, the sheriff's words just there. What do you think?

RODNEY GLASSMAN, FRIEND OF REP. GIFFORDS: The language of hate has really permeated throughout politics in Arizona. And what's so shocking about today is that Gabrielle was one of the rare politicians in our state who was able to rise above it all, and really stay out there and earnestly be available to all of her constituents.

But the fact is that Sheriff Dupnik is correct. The language of hate has become the modus operandi for partisan politics in Arizona. And we're just urging people throughout our community, while we're shocked that this happened today, to take a step back, and before coming to any conclusions, learn all the facts. And then we have to join together as Arizonans and get back on track, because this just is not working, and we need a new direction.

LEMON: Listen, might the sheriff know something that we don't know or something that he's not telling us? Or is he looking at this person's online social pages or what have you? But we don't know the motive yet. And we're being told by the police that he is not cooperating.

So why are people putting -- in your estimation, putting two and two together and saying this is about political discourse or bigotry or hatred?

GLASSMAN: There's become such a giant political divide in our state. The best way for individuals to get elected, for the most part, is to be divisive, to be nasty, to use hate language, to use language of fear. And we as a state are in a place where we're going to have to take a step back. Otherwise this kind of activity is going to continue.

And we're all very nervous about it. That's why a lot of us are coming together. And that's why the sheriff is really pressing for people to get focused on the fact that if we don't come together as a state of Arizona, we aren't going to --

LEMON: Mr. Glassman, I've been checking the social sites here, getting information off the wire as well. And finally, when the sheriff did say it during the press conference, people -- thousands of them responded saying, finally someone has said this. What do you garner from that?

GLASSMAN: Well, Sheriff Dupnik, I know, was a great, great mentor for Congresswoman Giffords. Gabby and he spent quite a bit of time together. He chaired her campaigns. It's that kind of common sense approach that the sheriff is stating now that really embodies and continues to embody Congresswoman Giffords.

Just last night, my wife and I were opening a package that she had personally sent because we just recently had our daughter. Gabby is all about relationships. She's all about being there. And that's why today's incident was so tragic, because she's one of the congress- people who's risen above it all in this age where you watch cable television and see everyone else's congresswoman.

You could go to the corner and meet with Gabrielle and she was always there, and will continue to do that. That's why we're confident that she's going to be able to move forward.

LEMON: Yes. Listen, it's good -- you heard the surgeon saying that she was being responsive and that he was optimistic about it. So I want to ask you more personally now about your friend. Have you spoken to anyone in her family or friends? And if so, what are they saying and how are they doing?

GLASSMAN: We are all in agreement that she is going to get better. She is going to get stronger. She is going to be back to serving southern Arizona. Rarely -- rarely have we ever seen such a hard-working person, someone so committed to the community and so committed to the relationships that she's developed.

So we're all confident. We, today in Pima County, down in southern Arizona, had our organizational meeting for the Democratic Party. There were over 200 hundred of us there, and as the rumors started flying, we all sat together knowing confidently that our friend, our congresswoman would recover, would be back at work and would be going strong.

LEMON: Rodney Glassman, former vice mayor of Tucson, also a close personal friend with the congresswoman. Thank you, sir. I want to tell our viewers that we are looking at live pictures now outside of the hospital there in Tucson. And there is a vigil. And there are people who have been gathering here all day starting earlier.

Look at the amount of candles and probably well wishes there in that parking lot at the hospital in Tucson, Arizona. Live pictures. We're going to continue to show you those scenes throughout the evening here.

There's much, much more to come. Want to talk know about the president. President Obama spoke out about the mass shooting in Tucson, saying the federal government will do what it can in this multiple murder investigation. The president --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As many of you are aware, earlier today, a number of people were shot in Tucson, Arizona, including several who were meeting at a supermarket with their congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords.

We are still assembling all the facts. But we know that Representative Giffords was one of the victims. She is currently at a hospital in the area. And she is battling for her life.

We also know that at least five people lost their lives in this tragedy. Among them were a federal judge, John Roll, who has served America's legal system for almost 40 years, and a young girl who was barely nine years old.

I've spoken to Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and offered the full resources of the federal government. A suspect is currently in custody, but we don't yet know what provoked this unspeakable act. A comprehensive investigation is currently under way.

And at my direction, Director Bob Mueller is en route to Arizona to help coordinate these efforts. I've also spoken to the Democratic and Republican leaders in the House.

Gabby Giffords was a friend of mine. She is not only an extraordinary public servant, but she is also somebody who is warm and caring. She is well-liked by her colleagues and well-liked by her constituents.

Her husband, Mark Kelly, is a Navy captain and one of America's valiant astronauts. It's not surprising that today Gabby was doing what she always does, listening to the hopes and concerns of her neighbors.

That is the essence of what our democracy is all about. That is why this is more than a tragedy for those involved. It is a tragedy for Arizona and a tragedy for our entire country.

What Americans do at times of tragedy is to come together and support each other. So at this time, I ask all Americans to join me and Michelle in keeping all the victims and their families, including Gabby, in our thoughts and prayers.

Those who have been injured, we are rooting for them. And I know Gabby is as tough as they come. And I am hopeful that she is going to pull through.

Obviously, our hearts go out to the family members of those who have been slain. We are going to get to the bottom of this. And we're going to get through this.

But in the meantime, I think all of us need to make sure that we're offering our thoughts and prayers to those concerned. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: President of the United States. The new speaker of the House, Republican John Boehner, also released a statement. He says, "I am horrified by the senseless attack on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and members of her staff. An attack on one who serves is an attack on all who serve. Acts and threats of violence against public officials have no place in our society. Our prayers are with Congresswoman Giffords, her staff, all who were injured and their families. This is a sad day for our country."

And on Wednesday, the new House Speaker presided as Giffords was sworn in for the third term from Arizona's Eighth District.

Always in a fast-moving story, there are lots of moving parts. I want to tell you this, earlier we aired a picture we believed was the suspected gunman, Jared Lee Loughner. It was taken from an archive page of Loughner's Facebook page and showed a young man at a sports stadium.

We have since learned that this is not Jarred Loughner. We regret that error here at CNN.

LEMON: Next up, CNN's own Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a practicing neurosurgeon, tells us exactly how doctors are treating Congresswoman Giffords.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We're following this breaking story -- authorities tonight are looking for a second person in that mass killing outside a Tucson grocery store. It all began, police say, with the attempted assassination of a congresswoman. She's alive, but six others are dead, including a federal judge and a nine-year-old girl.

The sheriff's office believes Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was the target of that attack. She was meeting with constituents outside the store when it happened. Giffords was shot in the head and is now listed in critical condition following surgery. But her doctors say -- her doctor says he is optimistic about her recovery.

Federal judge John Roll was among the six people killed. Authorities say he had stopped by the congresswoman's event just to say hello. Police named 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner as the suspected shooter. The sheriff says he may not have acted alone. And tonight a manhunt is on for another person of interest.

Police say they also recovered a Glock 9 millimeter handgun.

Next here on CNN, we'll hear from a person who was on the scene when shots were fired this morning at an Arizona shopping center.

Let's take you now to live pictures here at the vigil outside the hospital where the congresswoman is and so many of the other victims. We're hearing that some are still in critical condition, some still being treated. A vigil there, a makeshift memorial has been created.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Congresswoman Giffords underwent hours of surgery today. But doctors emerged with good news. I want you to take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. PETER RHEE, TRAUMA SURGEON: Gabrielle Giffords' condition was very optimistic. She was following commands.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was she lucid?

RHEE: She was shot one time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where, sir?

RHEE: In the head, through and through.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Front lobe, back lobe?

RHEE: Through and through -- I can't tell you right now for -- obviously for forensic purposes whether it's -- what direction. But she was shot through and through on one side of the head. It went through her brain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, is a neurosurgeon. He gave us a deeper perspective of Giffords' injuries and why her doctors are so positive about her future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Our chief medical correspondent here at CNN, of course, is Dr. Sanjay Gupta. You're a neurosurgeon. You know all about this. Shot that close with a nine millimeter. What are the odds here of surviving? And for doctors to be optimistic, that's saying a lot?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is saying a lot. And they have a lot more information now. Obviously at the time someone is shot, you're sort of collecting information, trying to see exactly where the bullet hit, how much penetration there was. Was this more of a glancing shot or was it something that penetrated deep into the brain?

Sometimes it can even cross one side of the brain to the other. These are all important things that people collect in terms of data at the time.

LEMON: I heard you say something and I heard during the press conference that she was obeying commands, listening to commands. What might it be like? What might they be telling her?

GUPTA: They might say something like raise two fingers or something like that, to really get an idea, is she able to hear? Is she able to process that information? And then able to execute a command based on that? Obviously, if she can do all those things, that's a real -- it tells you a lot if someone can follow commands. And it's one of the first things you check when someone comes out of the operating room.

So they go there -- she goes to the hospital, probably got a cat scan, goes to the operating room, has the surgery. And now everyone's sort of trying to figure out how well is she going to do. That obeying commands thing is a very important and good sign in the initial aftermath.

LEMON: So walk us through this, doctor. If you're there and you're treating someone that comes in with a gunshot wound like that, what's the first thing that happens when they get to the E.R.?

GUPTA: Well, the first thing you want to do is you do a neurological exam. you want to get some idea how significant was this injury? In some case, as you alluded to, it can be catastrophic. In those cases, surgery just may not help at all.

But if there's some idea that look, while there's been obviously a gunshot wound, the neurological impact is something that they think is salvageable, meaning that it could go to the operating room and actually have some sort of recovery, then the patient will go to the operating room. They'll try and remove some of the bleeding in that area, take some of the pressure off the brain. That's really important.

And then, obviously, get the patient to the intensive care unit as quickly as possible after that. But they do this neurological exam, even though she may have a breathing tube in. She's obviously in critical condition after an operation like this. But being able to do that neurological exam gives you a good prediction how she's going to do sort of in the longer run.

LEMON: It depends on the severity of the injury as to how long the surgery is, correct?

GUPTA: Yeah, how severe, how much of the bone, how much of the head was actually involved.

LEMON: So probably for her, I guess about four hours, because it happened around noon and then they held a press conference about 5:00, 5:30, saying that she was out of surgery and they were going to take her to ICU. So probably --

GUPTA: That sounds about right. Get the patient to the hospital. They have to obviously do a cat scan. Anesthesia is involved, getting the operating room ready. So the operation may be two to three hours possibly. But that's about typical.

LEMON: That's about standard. Time here, getting her to the hospital, getting her to the right place, and probably to the right facility that can treat her for this type of injury.

GUPTA: Speed, obviously, very important. She got very, very quick care, very important. She's relatively young. We talked about this earlier. That's going to work in her favor. The type of injury -- it sounds like it was a type of injury where the bullet actually passed into the area and then passed out -- in-and-out type of injury.

LEMON: At close range, the chances are it would go out. If you were shot from further away, possibly it would not because of the trajectory of the bullet.

GUPTA: It's hard to say if someone ducked, for example, and you had more of a glancing shot, that could also cause it to sort of go in and out over a very small area, for example, of the brain. We don't know the answers to that, exactly what happened.

But my sense is -- again, you don't want to read too much into it. The surgeons are usually pretty guarded, especially immediately after an operation, to predict things. But based on the fact that she's following commands, based on the fact that they came out and talked about that so early, this is as good a news as I think anybody could have expected in the aftermath.

LEMON: We're going to talk at some point tonight to someone who happens to be a friend but is a representative in Arizona, knows the congresswoman and is a doctor. And he called me and said to have a neurosurgeon say optimistic, that's a good sign because you guys -- you like to hedge a little bit. You don't want to give people false hope.

GUPTA: Most neurosurgeons, especially immediately after operation, are going to hold their cards pretty close to the vest there, because there's so many variables here. People say, how could this happen, that someone could get shot at close range and still be following commands afterwards?

It happens. I wrote a paper about this a couple of years ago. It can happen. But there are so many variable that sort of dictate that every single patient and every single injury is going to be so different.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer met with reporters after the shooting to talk about what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JAN BREWER (R), ARIZONA: It's an unbelievable tragedy that the people of Arizona experienced today. One of which, of course, in our worst nightmares, we would never could have imagined would have taken place. I ask the people of Arizona, I ask the people of America to keep the victims and their families in their prayers and pray for their recovery, and pray that we never again in Arizona have to ever experience a tragedy like this ever again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The mass shooting has sent shock waves all the way to the Oval Office. And CNN's Ed Henry has the reaction from the White House. Ed?

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: -- routine Saturday. The president and first lady had started the morning going to a basketball game for their daughter, Sasha. And then all of a sudden, it took a very dramatic and ugly turn, obviously.

I can tell you, White House officials at all levels really sprung in quickly to get on top of what is now a sprawling federal investigation, coordinated by the FBI at the president's direction.

We're told by officials here, the president was officially notified about 1:20 p.m. Eastern time by John Brennan, his Homeland Security adviser. And then he went into the White House Situation Room. You can see this official White House photo.

What's significant about it is the array of officials in there, including, on the left, you see Tom Donilon, his national security adviser, but also even the new White House chief of staff, Bill Daley, right there in the center of the photo, talking to the president, helping to brief the president on all of this.

I can tell you, after that, the president came out to the state dining room and gave some remarks, in talking about how he personally knows Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and said, she's as tough as they come and she's fighting for her life, and asked the American people to rally around all the victims. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: What Americans do at times of tragedy is to come together and support each other. So at this time, I ask all Americans to join me and Michelle in keeping all the victims and their families, including Gabby, in our thoughts and players. Those who have been injured, we are rooting for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: At about 3:00 p.m. Eastern time, the president made a series of phone calls. You can see from this second White House photo, that they've released here just a short time ago. It shows the president on the phone with Jan Brewer, the Arizona governor, a republican Who has sparred with this president. She gave a news conference pointing out politics all set aside obviously by both sides here.

The president in that call pledging all federal resources to the state of Arizona to get on top of this. He also called, we're told, Congressional leaders in both parties to also brief them on the situation. And in terms of federal resources, the president personally talking to the FBI director, Robert Mueller, and sending him to Arizona to make sure that this investigation is coordinated.

And finally, one very interesting phone call the president placed was to Mark Kelly. He is the husband of the congresswoman, and he is a NASA astronaut. We're told by White House officials he could not reach him, that the president had to leave a message because her husband obviously was in flight, trying to get to Arizona to be at her side.

LEMON: Ed Henry, thank you very much. Gabrielle Giffords has been in politics since 2001. Through the years, she's turned many of her colleagues into friends. Dr. Matt Heinz is one of them. He's a representative and a doctor in Arizona's House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. MATT HEINZ, ARIZONA HOUSE CONGRESSMAN: I've known Gabby for five years. And I actually lost my first attempt to become a legislator. And on that very night, she came up to me, gave me a hug and said, I know you're going to do this again. And I look forward to working with you. Let me know what I can do to help you out.

She's always been a dear friend. And my heart goes out to her family and all of the families of those who were tragically injured today and who lost their lives.

LEMON: A member of her staff lost his life. And I understand -- did you get a chance to speak to his fiancee or someone about him at the hospital?

HEINZ: You're talking about Gabe Zimmerman, yes. And I did. And my heart goes out to her. My heart goes out to his family. A tremendous advocate for the people of Arizona and a tremendous representative of Congresswoman Giffords, we lost today, along with many others. He will be missed.

LEMON: The sheriff of Pima County had some pretty staunch things to say, pretty tough things to say about the political environment, about why someone might want to do something like this, saying that Arizona had become a hotbed for bigotry and hate. As a representative, do you understand where he's coming from? What do you think of his words?

HEINZ: Don, I heard those remarks myself. And I think that he is very, very correctly calling attention to some of the vitriol and some of the way we're talking about each other in the political system, and how for those with troubled minds, sometimes some of the things that are said are unfortunately taken in the wrong way. And these kinds of tragedies can happen.

I think it's a very important discussion that we have to have as a state and as a country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A federal judge died in today's mass shooting in Arizona. We talked to a friend of Judge John Roll. Here's Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Rebecca White Berch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REBECCA WHITE BERCH, CHIEF JUSTICE, ARIZONA SUPREME COURT: Let me first tell you about Judge Roll. He was well-loved in the Arizona legal community. He was one of those judges who's always just thoughtful and wise and patient and kind. So that's a little bit about Judge Roll.

As far as I know, we can't tell whether he was targeted. This seems to have been an event that took place at an event that Congresswoman Giffords was holding. And we don't even know that anyone would have known that he would be there or in the area.

So we'll leave it for those who investigate this to find out whether he was targeted. But at the moment, I don't see anything that points to that.

LEMON: He had protection from U.S. Marshals about a year or so ago because of a lawsuit involving illegal immigrants. It was a huge multimillion-dollar immigration suit. So he had protection for a while, it's not out of the realm of possibilities. But we simply don't know yet.

BERCH: It's not out of the realm of possibility. As you mention, just a year ago, Judge Roll received several threats in connection with cases that he was handling. He was the kind of guy that never even really talked about the threats that he was receiving and the protection that was necessary for him to have.

LEMON: Thank you very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: We have some new information on the suspect in today's shooting when we come right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Getting close to the top of the hour. We have some breaking news to tell you about. Listen, we want to tell you about the suspect. The suspect's name is Jared Lee Loughner. We're now being told -- CNN has learned that he is in federal custody. There will be no first appearance since he is in federal custody.

Also, earlier here on CNN, we aired a picture we believed was the suspected gunman, as I said, Jared Lee Loughner. It was taken from an archive page of Loughner's Facebook page, and it showed a young man at a sports stadium. We have since learned that this is not Jared Loughner and we regret that error.

Also, we are also learning the victims of those who have died. This is coming from the Pima County Sheriff's Department. We will leave you with the names of those victims as we show the live pictures of the university medical center there in Tucson, Arizona.

Christina Greene; she is the nine-year-old girl.

Gabriel Zimmerman, 30 years old.

John Roll, 63.

Dorothy Murray, 76.

Dorwin Stoddard, 76.

And Phyllis Schneck, 79 years old, according to the Pima County Sheriff's Department.

Those are the names of the people who died today in that mass shooting.

I'm Don Lemon at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. Ahead on CNN, continuing coverage of the shootings in Arizona.