TUCSON SHOOTING: Jared Loughner Pleads Guilty, Gets Life in Prison

August 8, 2012 - 2:00 pm | Category: National

As expected, Tucson, Arizona shooting suspect Jared Loughner plead guilty Tuesday to killing six and injuring 13 and will likely spend the rest of his life in prison rather than face the possibility of the death penalty.

Among those wounded in the January 2011 shooting was his intended target, then-Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was critically wounded in the head.

In court, the 23-year-old college dropout said, “I plead guilty,” but otherwise sat quietly throughout the hearing while his parents cried and embraced.

Giffords said in a joint statement with her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, “The pain and loss caused by the events of January 8th, 2011, are incalculable. Avoiding a trial will allow us — and we hope the whole Southern Arizona community — to continue with our recovery.”