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Accused Mass Murderer Vowed Death to Police, Congresswoman

In this handout provided by the Pima County Sheriff's Forensic Unit, Jared Lee Loughner poses for a photo.

Jared Loughner, accused of shooting U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords wrote “die bitch” and “die cops” on a letter he received from the lawmaker in 2007, officials said.

The note was found by FBI investigators searching the Tucson home of Loughner and his parents, Captain Chris Nanos of the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said Wednesday. On the morning of the shooting,

That same morning, Loughner “blew a red light” and was stopped by a state wildlife officer about 7:30 a.m. — about two hours before the shootings — “about six miles from the Safeway,” Mark Hart, a public information officer with the Arizona Game and Fish Department in Tucson, said Wednesday.

“The officer observed Mr. Loughner run a red light, deemed it a threat to public safety and pulled him over,” he said. Loughner was given a verbal warning, Hart said.

Game and Fish Department officers have the authority to enforce other laws.

Randy Gardner had stopped by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ community event on Saturday to thank her for supporting the health care overhaul when he heard the “boom, pop, pop, pop” and the cries of the wounded. Ducking for cover, he found the scene more than terrifying.

He found it unbelievably familiar.

Gardner, 60, had survived a shooting once before. On May 4, 1970, he was a student at Kent State University when members of the Ohio National Guard opened fired on students protesting the Vietnam War, killing four people.

He was in the crowd that day and ran for his life, 75 metres, before diving to the ground.

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