Bells and tears mark one year since Gabrielle Giffords shooting [View all]

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Rebecca Kraft, 4, places flowers Sunday at a memorial in a Safeway parking lot in Tucson, Ariz., for the six people who lost their lives in a deadly shooting at the grocery store last year. ( Jonathan Gibby / Getty Images )

January 8, 2012 | 11:47 am
-- Ashley Powers in Tucson

At 10:11 a.m. Sunday, the mourners rang bells.

The tinkling was high-pitched, like children’s laughter, and stretched on for several minutes. Bystanders trembled and hugged. A few shook with tears.

The simple, powerful gesture outside a Safeway grocery store marked one year, to the minute, when a gunman opened fire here at a meet-and-greet for U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Six people were killed and 13 wounded, including the congresswoman, who was shot in the head.

Thus began a day of commemorative events in this sprawling southern Arizona city, which residents like to think of as a “big small town.” Later in the day, mourners will attend a gathering to honor the dead, who included a federal judge and a 9-year-old girl. A vigil too is planned, with Giffords scheduled to appear.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2012/01/gabrielle-giffords-tucson-arizona-shooting-anniversary-mark-kelly-safeway.html

More photos: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-0109-tucson-shooting-anniversary-pictures,0,6973420.photogallery