Tucson Will Honor 2011 Shooting Anniversary With Friday Ceremony

TUCSON, AZ — Tucson will mark the 10th anniversary of a deadly shooting with a Friday bell-ringing ceremony, the city announced.

The bell ringing at the Historic County Courthouse will be closed to the public due to the coronavirus pandemic, but will be livestreamed on Pima County's Facebook page. Several local television stations will also broadcast the ceremony live.

The Jan. 8, 2011 shooting claimed the lives of six people and injured 13 others, including former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Severely injured in the incident, Giffords went on to become a gun control advocate after retiring from Congress in 2012.

Ron Barber, the president of the January 8th Memorial Foundation, was injured in the shooting at Giffords' "Congress on Your Corner" event; a former Congressman himself, he was working as Giffords' district director at the time. Barber said he supports having a virtual ceremony to mark the somber anniversary, calling it "sad but completely understandable."

“Every January 8th remembrance is special to us, but the upcoming anniversary was to be particularly meaningful, since it will be both the 10th anniversary of the tragedy and the opening of the Memorial we have worked on for so many years,” Barber said. “But what is most important to all of us is protecting those who gather each year to mark this event. We would never do anything to put them or any other person in danger because of COVID."

The event will include a presentation of flags from an honor guard, a speech from Barber, a prayer from Rev. Joe Fitzgerald and the bell-ringing at 10:10 a.m. to coincide with the time the first shots were fired in 2011.

A video will also introduce the new memorial honoring the victims of the shooting. "Embrace” tells the story of the lives lost and people wounded, featuring sloping walls full of symbols embodying the values and interests held by each victim. It also honors Tucson's first responders, Tucson’s history, and the aspirations for the future of the community. The memorial is surrounded by six gardens, named for each of the six who died.

Pima County officials hope to open the memorial to the public by early February, pending the status of the pandemic.