US congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head and a number of other people were injured when an assailant opened fire as the Democrat was meeting constituents in Arizona, congressional officials said.
The officials said one of the victims died soon after the attack and others were taken to a nearby hospital. A hospital spokeswoman said Ms Giffords was alive and in a critical condition after the shooting.
The officials said the wounded included some of Ms Giffords’s aides who were with her at the time.
One official added the attack was carried out with an automatic weapon.
The FBI and local law enforcement officials are investigating the attack, which took place while Ms Giffords was greeting constituents outside a shop in Tucson.
Ms Giffords, 40, was re-elected to her third term last November. She was a member of the Arizona House and Senate before coming to Washington.
She first won election to Congress amid a wave of Democratic victories in 2006. In November, she edged a tea party favourite.
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