It seems hardly believable that 10 years have passed since the event that has come to be known, blandly, as “the Tucson Shootings” occurred. Yet 10 years have indeed gone bye, and with them the world has changed. For one small measure, Gabrielle Giffords’s husband, Mark Kelly, now represents Arizona in the United States Senate, part of a political transformation that would have been hard to foresee in 2011. For another, we have become increasingly aware that something urgently needs to be done to curb the violence that so radically changed Gabby’s life, and ours with it.
But much remains the same. We face a novel plague, but we also battle three interlocked epidemics that have long been with us: a surge in untreated mental illness, courtesy of the so-called libertarians who scorn spending public money on those in most need; a general mood of free-floating rage, often politically oriented, as is evident by the scenes playing out at the Capitol even as I write; and a flood in the number of weapons specifically meant to kill humans, thanks to the ministrations of the NRA and other tools of the gun manufacturing lobby. We cannot let this anniversary go by without observing that almost nothing has been done about any of these scourges—and that until it is there will be other shootings, other victims, other vigils.
We invite you to join us as we revisit some of the moments that followed the Tucson Shootings, marked by a suite of photographs of events surrounding the shootings and their aftermath. Please visit our issue of February 2011, also found at the bottom of this portfolio.
—Gregory McNamee
Ringed with police tape, the Safeway at Ina and Oracle where the shootings occurred stands empty. Photograph by Gregory McNamee.As seen on January 12, 2011, a makeshift memorial near the Safeway where the shootings took place. Photograph by Gregory McNamee.At the Safeway entrance. Photograph by Gregory McNamee.The marquee of the Fox Theatre expresses the feelings of the community. Photograph by David Olsen.President Barack Obama delivers a powerful speech at Together We Thrive: Tucson and America memorial on January 12, 2011, at the University of Arizona. Photograph by David Olsen.The growing memorial at the University Medical Center a few days after the shooting. Photograph by David Olsen.The growing memorial at the University Medical Center a few days after the shooting. Photograph by David Olsen.The growing memorial at the University Medical Center a few days after the shooting. Photograph by David Olsen.The growing memorial at the University Medical Center a few days after the shooting. Photograph by David Olsen.The growing memorial at the University Medical Center a few days after the shooting. Photograph by David Olsen.The growing memorial at the University Medical Center a few days after the shooting, heavily attended by national media figures such as Lester Holt of NBC. Photograph by David Olsen.The UMC memorial at night. Photograph by Gregory McNamee.Memorial outside of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’s office in Tucson, a few days after the shootings.Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords being transported to a medical air transport for travel to Houston, Texas. Photograph by Gregory McNamee.
The EMTs who responded to the shooting, attend Together We Thrive: Tucson and America memorial on January 12, 2011, at the University of Arizona.
Dr. Peter Rhee, the attending trauma physician for Congresswoman Giffords, attends Together We Thrive: Tucson and America memorial on January 12, 2011, at the University of Arizona. Photograph by David Olsen.Ron Barber and family on stage at the March 10, 2011 benefit concert for the Fund for Civility, Respect, and Understanding, in support of the individuals and families affected by the Jan. 8 shootings. Photograph by David Olsen.Scenes from the March 10, 2011 benefit concert for the Fund for Civility, Respect, and Understanding, in support of the individuals and families affected by the Jan. 8 shootings: Jackson Browne and Joey Burns. Below Alice Cooper; Graham Nash and David Crosby. Photographs by David Olsen.The first anniversary of the Tucson Shootings is commemorated at the University of Arizona on January 8, 2012. Photograph by Gregory McNamee.The permanent memorial erected at the Safeway as seen on the eighth anniversary in 2019. Photograph by Gregory McNamee.
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