• Loughner's parents hid shotgun from him, slew of new documents show

    AFP - Getty Images, file

    Jared Loughner, 24.

    By Elizabeth Chuck, Staff Writer, NBC News

    Jared Loughner hadn't been the same since he got fired from a job at a mall in Tucson, his parents said. He had been expelled from college. After a visit from campus police, his parents decided to hide a shotgun that Loughner owned in the trunk of their car in the garage so he didn't have access to it in the house.

    A slew of details about Loughner, 24 -- who has pleaded guilty to killing six people and wounding former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and a dozen others in a Jan. 8, 2011, shooting spree in Tucson -- emerged as authorities investigating the rampage released more than 2,700 pages of documents that they have compiled.

    Among the thousands of interviews, police reports and survivors' statements released Wednesday, one theme was constant about Loughner, who has since been diagnosed with schizophrenia: As his father, Randy Loughner, told investigators at the time, he "just doesn't seem right lately."

    Loughner was fired more than a year before the shooting, his father told investigators after the shooting, according to the documents. Trying to have a rational conversation with his son became more and more difficult after that, he said.

    "Lost, lost and just didn't want to communicate with me," Randy Loughner said.

    After Loughner was expelled, things got worse: Randy Loughner said his son felt harassed by campus police, who came to the Loughner home and asked if there were any firearms in the house. Loughner had bought a 12-gauge shotgun in 2008; at the recommendation of Pima Community College campus police, who recommended any firearms be taken away, they hid the shotgun and an antique weapon they owned.

    "He had a shotgun. And I took it away," Randy Loughner told police. "They suggested that if I had any firearms, to take them away. And I did."


    A former friend of Loughner's, Zachary Osler, was an employee at a store where Loughner later purchased a Glock handgun used in the Tucson rampage. Osler described the awkward encounter he had with Loughner.

    "His response is nothing. Just a mute facial expression. And just like, he, he didn't care," Osler told investigators. He said the change in Loughner's personality made him uncomfortable to be around. 

    "He would say he could dream and then control what he was doing while he was dreaming," Osler said, adding Loughner never mentioned Giffords in conversation to him.

    Loughner's mother, Amy, felt her son's behavior was so odd that she tested him for drugs. Loughner kept a journal that was written in illegible script, his father said. Despite their concerns, Loughner's parents said they never sent him to get help and he had never been diagnosed as mentally ill.

    On the morning of the shooting, Loughner's father said his son had been "acting strange." Loughner had taken his father's car early in the morning, returned home briefly, left again, then returned home once more before leaving on foot with a backpack.

    Pima County Sheriff's Deputy T. Audetat Jr. wrote in his police report that when he arrived at the scene, he saw a man being held down by "two or three people". He handcuffed the shooter; in the shooter's pocket, in addition to two Glock magazines, fully loaded, he found a folding knife and a credit card and ID card, he said. 

    He described what the shooter was wearing: black beanie, black hooded sweatshirt, khaki pants. Another deputy noticed he was wearing earplugs, he wrote in his report.

    One of the victims of the shooting outside the Safeway supermarket, Ronald Barber, told police of the rampage, "I was laying on my right side and I could see the blood coming out. You know, and, uh, and all I remember is seeing the congresswoman with her back to me, on her side. On her right side, uh, with her head up against the window, you know, of the Safeway. And Daniel, um, who is our intern, saying, 'Stay with me, congresswoman, stay with me.'"

    Once in the patrol car, Loughner pleaded the Fifth Amendment repeatedly, Deputy Audetat wrote. At the police station, Loughner said very little besides, "I just want you to know that I'm the only person that knew about this," according to the deputy.

    In his four-hour interview with authorities following the morning rampage, Loughner sat in restraints and was polite and cooperative with authorities, documents show. He asked to use the restroom at one point, saying thank you when he was permitted to. Although after a while he complained, "I'm about ready to fall over."

    Loughner will spend the rest of his life behind bars but is not eligible for the death penalty because of his plea deal in the case. Giffords retired from her position in Congress a year after the shooting to focus on her recovery.

  • Tucson shooter sentenced to life after Giffords, other victims confront him

    The gunman who killed six people and tried to assassinated U.S. congresswoman Gabby Giffords showed no emotion in court as a judge sentenced him to life in prison. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.

    By NBC News staff and wire reports

    TUCSON, Ariz. -- The man who pleaded guilty to a deadly Arizona shooting rampage that wounded former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has been sentenced to life in prison.

    Ross D. Franklin / AP

    Former Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, left, and her husband, Mark Kelly, leave U.S. District Court in Tucson, Ariz., on Thursday, Nov. 8, after the sentencing of Jared Loughner.

    U.S. District Judge Larry Burns sentenced 24-year-old Jared Lee Loughner on Thursday for the January 2011 attack that left six people dead and Giffords and others wounded.

    Loughner pleaded guilty to federal charges under an agreement that guarantees he will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole. He received seven life terms, one for each death and one for the attempt on Giffords' life, plus 140 years.

    Giffords hugged her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, after the sentencing was handed down.

    Loughner showed little response to the sentence.

    The hearing marked the first time victims -- including Giffords -- could confront Loughner in court. Her husband spoke on her behalf, saying Loughner changed his wife's life forever but couldn't dent her spirit.


    At the courtroom podium, Giffords held Kelly’s hand silently and stared directly at Loughner as Kelly addressed him in a stern tone, NBC News reported.

    "That bright and chilly morning you killed six innocent people," Kelly said. "Gabby would trade her own life to save any of those you savagely murdered that day."

    Kelly then named the six victims and talked a little about each. Afterward he said:

    "Then there's Gabby... Now she struggles to deliver each and every sentence ...  Gabby struggles to walk. Her right arm is paralyzed. She is partially blind."

    "Mr. Loughner, by making death and producing tragedy ... you tried to extinguish life ... But know this and remember always -- you failed. You may have put a bullet through her head, but you haven't put a dent in her spirit and commitment ... " ...

    "You have decades upon decades to contemplate what you did. But after today. After this moment. Here and now. Gabby and I are done thinking about you.

    Kelly also lambasted elected officials for their positions on gun control, naming Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer as one of many "feckless" state elected leaders who "look at gun violence,not as a problem to solve, but as the white elephant in the room to ignore."

    Brewer spokesman Matthew Benson declined comment on the criticism leveled against the governor. 

    "This is a day of justice and peace," he said.

    Read Mark Kelly's complete testimony as prepared for delivery 

    Loughner, asked at the outset of the hearing by Burns if he had chosen to waive his right to make a statement, answered in a low voice, "That's true."

    He was otherwise silent as he sat next to his lawyer, Judy Clarke.

    Clarke put her hand on Loughner's arm after Kelly spoke, a contrast to last year when the defendant spat on his lawyer from his jail cell, NBC News reported.

    Other survivors also addressed Loughner.

    "You forgot to shoot yourself," Mavanell Stoddard, whose husband died shielding her from bullets, told Loughner, according to a reporter from The Arizona Republic.

    Suzi Hileman, who was shot three times while trying to save her 9-year-old neighbor, told Loughner she would think of him as dead. "You turned a civics lesson into a nightmare."

    The 24-year-old Loughner pleaded guilty three months ago to 19 federal charges under a plea agreement.

    Both sides reached the deal after a judge declared that Loughner was able to understand the charges against him. After the shooting, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and underwent forcible psychotropic drug treatments.

    Some victims, including Giffords, welcomed the deal as a way to move on. It spared victims and their families from having to go through a potentially lengthy and traumatic trial and locks up the defendant for life.

    Christina Pietz, the court-appointed psychologist who treated Loughner, had warned that although Loughner was competent to plead guilty, he remained severely mentally ill and his condition could deteriorate under the stress of a trial.

    When Loughner first arrived at a Missouri prison facility for treatment, he was convinced Giffords was dead, even though he was shown a video of the shooting. He eventually realized she was alive after he was forcibly medicated.

    'Home for good': Giffords, husband move back to Tucson

    It's unknown whether Pima County prosecutors, who have discretion on whether to seek the death penalty against Loughner, will file state charges against him. Stephanie Coronado, a spokeswoman for Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall, said Wednesday that no decision had been made.

    It's also unclear where Loughner will be sent to serve his federal sentence. He could return to a prison medical facility like the one in Springfield, Mo., where he's been treated for more than a year. Or he could end up in a prison such as the federal lockup in Florence, Colo., that houses some of the country's most notorious criminals, including Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols and "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski.

    The exact placement will depend on the nature of his mental illness and its treatment.

    Slideshow: Ariz. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

    Saul Loeb / EPA

    A look at the Arizona lawmaker's rise to prominence — from high school to Capitol Hill.

    Launch slideshow

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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  • Psychologist: No guarantee that Arizona shooter Jared Loughner would stay competent

    Jared Lee Loughner took full responsibility for the Arizona massacre, and now faces the rest of his life in prison. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.

    By Pete Williams and Isolde Raftery, NBC News

    The federal Bureau of Prisons psychologist observing Jared Loughner concluded in an April report released Thursday that he was mentally competent to stand trial for the Arizona shooting spree that left six people dead and 13 wounded, but there was no guarantee he would remain so given his fragile state.

    Christina Pietz also concluded that Loughner’s status "may wax and wane" and could seriously worsen under the pressure of a trial.

    Her assessment is part of what led his lawyers to conclude that a guilty plea was the wisest move.


    Loughner opened fire on Jan. 8, 2011, outside a Tucson Safeway where  former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was holding a meet-and-greet with constituents. Six people, including a federal judge, John Roll, and a 9-year-old girl, Christina-Taylor Green, were killed. Giffords, who was shot in the head, was among 13 people wounded. Loughner pleaded guilty on Tuesday and in doing so, avoided the death penalty.

    The report released Thursday covers a roughly 12-week period during which Pietz evaluated Loughner, from January to April of this year, at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Mo. Loughner was sent there after initially being found incompetent to stand trial.

    Jared Loughner pleads guilty to Tucson shootings, avoids death penalty

    In the 11-page report, which was included in a court filing, Pietz concludes that Loughner is schizophrenic, but that his symptoms can be controlled with medication.

    Throughout, the psychologist details Loughner’s housing and daily routine. Because he is a high-profile inmate, she writes, he is housed in a two-room area of the facility. One side of his room has a writing desk, bed and shower. The shower doesn’t have a curtain to allow staff to monitor him.

    Read the psychologist report (.pdf)

    In that room, he keeps a television, pen, toothpaste, toothbrush, shampoo and towel. The other room has stationary bike, although Pietz writes that Loughner rarely uses the second room.

    Loughner remained on suicide watch during the 12 weeks Pietz evaluated him, and guards recorded his activities every 15 minutes in a suicide watch log.

    “He denied experiencing auditory hallucinations,” Pietz wrote. But “there were a few times that staff suspected he was attending to internal stimuli because he would moan while pacing in his room.”

    Loughner attended a therapy group with four other inmates from whom he was separated with a mesh wire. Pietz reported that he was an active participant during most of those sessions but sometimes paced in his area.

    Analysis: In Loughner case, a cost-benefit calculation to the death penalty

    Loughner also asked for a job and received two: rolling towels and stamping returned addresses on blank envelopes.

    His improvement over time was marked, Pietz wrote, and when he spoke with her, he remained focused. During those conversations, which he knew would likely become public, Loughner sometimes said he regretted that Giffords did not die.

    “He talked openly about his disappointment that Rep. Giffords could be alive,” Pietz wrote. “When I asked what this meant he stated, ‘That I failed. I’m not an assassin. That I ruined my life for nothing. I think differently now.’”

    Later in the interview, he told Pietz, “It’s another failure if she’s alive. Jared Loughner failed again. He’s a failure. So all of this would be for nothing.”

    On Jan. 24, the beginning of his evaluation, Loughner said, “I saw her on TV last night. I saw Christina Green. I saw Mrs. Hileman (Suzi Hileman, a shooting survivor). I saw the guy that held me down. I saw her walk into her office for the last time. She was going to the State of the Union address. I swear to you that’s not the woman I shot. The woman I shot in the head died instantly. No one could survive that gunshot wound to the head.” 

    Later though, Loughner demonstrated to Pietz that he understood Giffords was alive.

    Watch the most-viewed videos on NBCNews.com

    Pietz reported that his attorney visits left Loughner exhausted. At first, he was unrestrained during those meetings. But after he spat and lunged at one of his attorneys, he was outfitted with a belly chain, handcuffs and leg irons. Those restraints have since come off.

    In conclusion, Pietz writes: “Because Mr. Loughner’s condition may wax and wane, I recommend the court expeditiously address issues related to his situation.”

    After his guilty plea, Loughner was returned to the Missouri facility pending sentencing on Nov. 15. He faces a sentence of life in prison.

     

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  • Jared Loughner pleads guilty to Tucson shootings, avoids death penalty

    Jared Lee Loughner took full responsibility for the Arizona massacre, and now faces the rest of his life in prison. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.

    By NBC News staff

    Updated 6:50 p.m. ET: Jared Lee Loughner on Tuesday pleaded guilty to killing six people and wounding former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and a dozen others in a January 2011 shooting rampage at a Tucson, Ariz., supermarket.

    The plea came after U.S. District Court Judge Larry A. Burns ruled that the 23-year-old college dropout was competent enough to enter a plea.  

    "He's a different person in his appearance and affect than the first time I saw him," Burns said of Loughner.

    Bill Robles

    A courtroom sketch of Jared Loughner and his attorney Judy Clarke.

     


    Burns then began to question Loughner, asking if he understood everything in his guilty plea agreement, in which Loughner would admit to 19 counts --  the attempted assassination of Giffords, six counts related to the shooting deaths and the remaining counts for injuries --  and the government would not seek the death penalty.

    Loughner said he understood the charges. Asked by the judge if he has a clear mind, Loughner responded, "Yes, I do."

    Burns confirmed with Loughner and his attorney, Judy Clarke, that they understood that Loughner could not change his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity. Clarke also explained the deal waives Loughner's right to an appeal.

    Additional provisions of the plea deal call for Loughner to forfeit ownership of the weapons he used in the shootings and pay restitution of up to $19 million, $1 million to each of the victims. He also must forfeit any money earned from selling his story.

    Burns then read each of the counts against Loughner to which Loughner replied, "I plead guilty." The judge accepted the pleas.

    Loughner opened fire on Jan. 8, 2011, outside a Tucson Safeway where then-Rep. Giffords was holding a meet-and-greet with constituents. Six people, including a federal judge, John Roll, and a 9-year-old girl, Christina-Taylor Green, were killed. Giffords, who was shot in the head, was among 13 people wounded.

    John Leonardo, the US Attorney for the District of Arizona, says "Today justice was done," because Jared Loughner "will spend the rest of his life in prison." Watch the entire news conference.

    Earlier Tuesday, with Loughner listening calmly without expression, Dr. Christina Pietz, a psychologist who evaluated Loughner, testified that he showed signs of depression as early as 2006 and was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2011. 

    Officials at a federal prison have forcibly medicated him with psychotropic drugs for more than a year. 

    Pietz said she believed that medication helped Loughner because he began showing some remorse about the shootings and at one point said he felt bad about the “assassination attempt,” and was tormented by thoughts of what he’d done.

    "He has become human," Pietz said, testifying Loughner was mentally competent to proceed with the hearing.

    A guilty plea deal means Loughner will not face the death penalty; instead, he would spend the rest of his life in prison. It would also mean that survivors and victims’ relatives, many of whom attended Tuesday's hearing, would be spared what could be a lengthy and agonizing trial.

    Loughner initialed each page of the agreement "JL" and signed his name to the document, dated Aug. 6, 2012, with a shaky signature.

    Though the plea agreement stipulates that Loughner will face a punishment of life in prison, he was not formally sentenced on Tuesday. That has been scheduled for Nov. 15.

    Analysis: In Loughner case, a cost-benefit calculation to the death penalty

    "It is my hope that this decision will allow the Tucson community, and the nation, to continue the healing process free of what would likely be extended trial and pre-trial proceedings that would not have a certain outcome," Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. "In making the determination not to seek the death penalty, I took into consideration the views of the victims and survivor families, the recommendations of the prosecutors assigned to the case, and the applicable law."

    The U.S. Attorney for Arizona, John Leonardo, said the resolution of the case was appropriate.

    Martial Trezzini / EPA

    Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, seen here on July 25, 2012, was shot in the head during the shooting spree.

    "The lives of these victims and the lives of their families will never be the same," Leonardo said, "and nothing that the criminal justice system or anyone else can do will ever bring back what these people have lost."

    Several shooting survivors spoke out after the hearing, including U.S. Rep. Ron Barber, a former aide to Giffords, who called the plea agreement "certain" and "just."

    Earlier, Giffords’ husband said he and his wife were also satisfied with the plea deal with Loughner.

    "Gabby and I have been in contact with the U.S. Attorneys' Office throughout this process.  We don't speak for all of the victims or their families, but Gabby and I are satisfied with this plea agreement,” Kelly, a retired astronaut, said in the statement. 

    Watch the most-viewed videos on NBCNews.com

    “The pain and loss caused by the events of January 8, 2011 are incalculable.  Avoiding a trial will allow us - and we hope the whole Southern Arizona community - to continue with our recovery and move forward with our lives."

    Giffords retired from Congress a year after the shooting to focus on her recovery.

    NBC's Pete Williams, Jay Gray and Miguel Almaguer contributed to this report.

     

     

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  • Judge to weigh Tucson shooting suspect's competency

    By Pete Williams
         NBC News Justice Correspondent

    With the attention on Rep. Gabriel Giffords, here's an update on the status of Jared Loughner, the man accused of shooting her. He remains at a federal prison in Springfield, Mo., where doctors have resumed giving him drugs to treat what they say is schizophrenia.

    Ho / Reuters

    Tuscon shooting rampage suspect Jared Lee Loughner is pictured in this undated booking photograph released on February 22, 2011.

    In late May, the federal judge overseeing the case against Loughner declared him mentally unfit to stand trial and ordered him sent to Missouri for up to four months of treatment. After Loughner refused to take medication, hospital doctors decided on June 21 to begin giving it to him against his will, finding that he was a danger to himself and others. Loughner's lawyers objected, and a federal court ordered the medication stopped. Doctors complied and stopped medicating him on July 2.

    But on July 18, doctors resumed forced medication after finding that Loughner's condition had seriously deteriorated. They said Loughner was depressed, his speech was slowed and he complained of feeling helpless. "He also reported that the radio was talking to him and inserting thoughts into his mind," prison reports said. He began pacing his cell, screaming loudly, and crying for hours at a time. In mid-July, he told a prison doctor, "I want do die. Give me the injection, kill me now." A federal court declined to stop the prison from resuming the forced medication.

    The judge overseeing the case will consider in late September whether Loughner's competency to stand trial has been restored.