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Your Letters: Tucson Shooting

LIANE HANSEN, Host:

Much of last week's program was devoted to the coverage of the shootings in Tucson. We followed the police investigation as it unfolded and details slowly began to emerge. And we took a moment out to remember the six people who were killed.

(SOUNDBITE OF BAGPIPES)

HANSEN: Last night, at the Statehouse in Phoenix, Arizona, stunned residents gathered for a vigil.

(SOUNDBITE OF BAGPIPES PLAYING "AMAZING GRACE")

HANSEN: Bagpipes sounded in honor of the victims of yesterday's tragic shooting. In addition to the wounding of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and the killing of federal judge John Roll, five others were murdered and 12 more wounded. Among the dead: Congresswoman Giffords' director of community outreach, Gabe Zimmerman, age 30; Dorothy Morris, age 76; Dorwin...

HANSEN: My colleague WEEKEND EDITION SATURDAY host Scott Simon and his family are friends with Gabrielle Giffords and her family. Last week, Scott had this personal essay about the Congresswoman. Here's an excerpt.

SCOTT SIMON: She seems to cherish the curmudgeonly independence of her district. I've heard her complain about the constant strain of raising money and getting middle seats on long airplane flights but never about meeting with her constituents, even if it's just to hear harangues. The people who were shot alongside her yesterday, including those who died, were her friends and neighbors. I know her family wants the media...

HANSEN: Listener Don Gillam(ph) went to our website and wrote that Scott's commentary forced him to stop and pause for a moment. I'm so sorry, he wrote. I've become almost numb to news stories about tragedy. We hear them every day, but listening to the stories about Representative Giffords, then hearing details about the nine-year-old girl that died, I just can't hold the tears back. So sad.

HANSEN: We want to hear from you. Go to NPR.org and click on the Contact Us link. We're also on Facebook and Twitter @NPRWeekend, or you can send me a tweet @NPRLiane. And that's spelled L-I-A-N-E. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.