So sad. Please keep her and those others injured (along with their families) in your thoughts:

TUCSON – Representative Gabrielle Giffords, an Arizona Democrat, and 17 others were shot here on Saturday morning when a gunman opened fire outside a supermarket where Ms. Giffords was meeting with constituents for a “Congress on Your Corner” event.

Ms. Giffords, 40, was described as being in very critical condition at the University Medical Center in Tucson, where she was operated on by a team of neurosurgeons. One of the surgeons said that she had been shot once in the head, “through and through,” with the bullet going through her brain.

“I can tell you at this time, I am very optimistic about her recovery,” he said in a news conference. “We cannot tell what kind of recovery but I’m as optimistic as it can get in this kind of situation.”

An official with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said that six people had been killed and 18 wounded in the shooting, including a federal judge, John Roll, who had been involved in immigration cases and had previously received death threats. Among the six dead was a child about 9 years old, the hospital confirmed.

Ten of the wounded were taken to the hospital.

Richard Kastigar, a supervisor with the sheriff’s department, identified the gunman as a 22-year-old who was in custody. Citing unnamed sources, the Associated Press identified the suspect as Jared Laughner.

Witnesses said Ms. Giffords was speaking to constituents when a man ran up and began firing. He then tried to escape on foot but was tackled by a bystander and taken into custody by the police.

We’ll keep this page updated (but with news only, not commentary. There’s plenty of that, good and bad, elsewhere).

UPDATE: Surgeons say Rep. Giffords is showing positive signs while the police search for a “person of interest.”

UPDATE II: Authorities have ruled out an accomplice and shooter Jared Laughner is “not cooperating.” President Obama held a moment of silence earlier and House leaders say they will suspend all business for the week.