TUCSON, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- A surgeon at a Tucson hospital said he was "very optimistic" about the recovery of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., after surgery Saturday.
Giffords was shot in the head at a public event in Tucson. She underwent surgery at the hospital Saturday afternoon. At least six others were dead and 18 wounded, including the congresswoman.
The hospital spokesman, a surgeon, told a news conference at the University Medical Center, "At this hospital we have 10 patients, of those one died". The fatality was a child, 9. "Five are critical, we currently have five patients undergoing surgery in the operating room".
The spokesman said, "The congresswoman is not deceased," contrary to some reports. "She is in critical condition ... I can tell you ... I am very optimistic about her".
The surgeon spokesman said Giffords was shot in the head, "through and through".
A spokesman for the Pima County Sheriff's Department told CNN on the air that six people had been killed and 18 wounded, including the congresswoman. The spokesman confirmed a suspect was in custody.
CNN quoted law enforcement sources identified the suspect as Jared Lee Loughner, 22. The sources said a weapon has been recovered.
The Times said she had been taken to University Medical Center in Tucson, the trauma center for the area, about 10 miles away from the shooting outside a supermarket.
CNN reported that among those killed at the grocery store where the Democratic congresswoman, 40, was attacked was a congressional staff member.
The White House was monitoring the situation, and FBI agents have been dispatched to the scene, CNN reported.
The shooting was at a Safeway supermarket in northwest Tucson as Giffords hosted an event, the Times said. It was her third public event since being re-elected to a third term, running against a Tea Party-supported challenger in November.
The Times said Giffords office was vandalized last March after she voted for healthcare reform. Shots were fired at her Arizona office during the 2008 election. In a 2009 event, a protester was removed from the scene by police after a pistol fell to the floor, the Times reported.
Giffords married Navy Capt. Mark Kelly, a NASA astronaut who is scheduled to lead a space shuttle mission to the International Space Station, CNN said.
New U.S. House Speaker John Boehner said he was "horrified" by the shooting, CNN reported.
Meanwhile, in Washington, Capitol Police released a statement advising all members of Congress to take "prudent precautions" for their personal security. UPI
