As some may have heard, there was an attack at a public "Congress on Your Corner" event in Tucson, Arizona today, which put Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) in the hospital with a head wound and killed Chief Judge John Roll (United States District Court for the District of Arizona) and a nine-year-old girl. The motives are unclear; Giffords, while a Democrat, was a former Republican and well-known as a Blue Dog Democrat, which puts her very much middle-of-the-road. Roll, who was appointed by George H. W. Bush and has been Chief Judge since 2006, has previously had problems with death threats, but Giffords was very definitely the target. The man linked to the shooting appears to have had some mental problems. It's very difficult to know what to say in the face of such events. Prayers for all concerned.
ADDED LATER: The NY Times has biographies of those who died in the shooting. It's very much a snapshot of America.
