Arizona massacre accused in court

The man accused of attempting to assassinate US congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in a gun rampage that killed six people is due to appear in an Arizona court.

Investigators carried out a search warrant at 22-year-old Jared Loughner’s Tucson home and seized an envelope from a safe with messages including “I planned ahead”, “My assassination” and the name “Giffords” next to what appears to be the man’s signature.

Loughner allegedly bought the Glock pistol used in Saturday’s attack at Sportsman’s Warehouse in Tucson in November.

Court documents also show that Loughner had contact with Democrat Ms Giffords, 40, in the past. Other evidence included a letter on her official stationery in which she thanked him for attending a Congress on your Corner event at a shopping centre in Tucson in 2007.

Ms Giffords was shot in the head at about 10am at her first Congress on your Corner event of 2011 as she was meeting constituents outside a Tuscon supermarket.

Heather Williams, the first assistant federal public defender in Arizona, said her office was seeking an outside lawyer for Loughner because one of those killed was Arizona’s top judge, John Roll.

Pima County sheriff Clarence Dupnik said on Sunday that Loughner acted alone.

Loughner, who will appear before US Magistrate Judge Lawrence Anderson at the Sandra Day O’Connor Courthouse in Phoenix, is accused of killing six people, including a federal judge, an aide to Ms Giffords and a nine-year-old girl born on September 11, 2001. Fourteen others were wounded, including Ms Giffords.

Government prosecutors have charged Loughner with one count of attempted assassination of a member of congress, two counts of killing an employee of the federal government and two counts of attempting to kill a federal employee. He also could face state charges over the killings.

Doctors treating Ms Giffords at Tucson’s University Medical Centre provided an optimistic update about her chances for survival, saying they were “very, very encouraged” by her ability to respond to simple commands along with their success in controlling her bleeding.