Profiles of Tucson victims

Details emerge about who they were

Published January 9, 2011 10:57PM (EST)

This undated photo provided by the Federal 9th Circuit Court shows Judge John Roll. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011 by a gunman who opened fire outside a grocery store during a meeting with voters, killing John Roll, a federal judge and four others in a rampage that rattled the country and left politicians fearful for their safety. (AP Photo/Federal 9th Circuit Court) (AP)
This undated photo provided by the Federal 9th Circuit Court shows Judge John Roll. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011 by a gunman who opened fire outside a grocery store during a meeting with voters, killing John Roll, a federal judge and four others in a rampage that rattled the country and left politicians fearful for their safety. (AP Photo/Federal 9th Circuit Court) (AP)

JOHN ROLL, 63:

Named Arizona's chief federal judge in 2006, U.S. District Judge John M. Roll won acclaim for a career as a respected jurist and leader who had pushed to beef up the court's strained bench to handle a growing number of border crime-related cases. Roll was appointed to the federal bench in 1991 by President George H.W. Bush. He previously served as a state trial judge and as a judge on the midlevel Arizona Court of appeals, and as a county and state prosecutor. Bishop Gerald Kicanas of the Roman Catholic Church's Tucson Diocese said Roll was an active parishioner. "He lived his faith as a servant of our nation for the cause of justice," Kicanas said. Roll was a Pennsylvania native who got his law degree from the University of Virginia. He is survived by his wife, Maureen, three sons, and five grandchildren.

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CHRISTINA TAYLOR GREEN, 9:

Christina Taylor Green was only 9, but the third-grader already was an aspiring politician. Her parents say Christina had just been elected to the student council at Mesa Verde Elementary School and had been interested in politics from a young age. She already had told her parents she wanted to attend Penn State and have a career that involved helping those less fortunate than her. The brown-eyed athletic girl loved to swim with her 11-year-old brother Dallas, her lone sibling. Her mother, Roxanna Green, said Christina also loved animals, singing, dancing and gymnastics. She also was the only girl on her Canyon del Oro Little League baseball team. Her grandfather, former major-league pitcher Dallas Green, managed the 1980 world champion Philadelphia Phillies. Christina's father, John Green, is a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Christina was born on the tragic day of Sept. 11, 2001.

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GABE ZIMMERMAN, 30:

Gabe Zimmerman, the director of community outreach for U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, handled thousands of issues raised by constituents out of the congresswoman's offices in Tucson and Sierra Vista. Co-workers say Zimmerman, who had a master's degree in social work, cared passionately about helping people. "He was a master at dealing with people," said C.J. Karamargin, a spokesman for Giffords. Zimmerman was one of the Giffords staffers who organized many public events where voters could meet Giffords and talk to her about issues. Zimmerman, who is survived by a brother, was engaged to be married.

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PHYLLIS SCHNECK, 79:

When Phyllis Schneck and her husband retired, they spent their winters in Tucson and summers in their native Rutherford, N.J. "They didn't want to ever have to deal with the snow again," said Schneck's daughter, B.J. Offutt of Colorado Springs, Colo. Schneck, who continued to return to Tucson in the winters even after her husband died in 2007, was a homemaker who raised her two daughters and one son and had a talent for cooking. In retirement, Schneck kept herself occupied by volunteering at her church. Her home in Tucson was less than four miles from the supermarket where the shooting took place. Offutt said her mother's appearance at the store was surprising, because she normally shopped at a different store and wasn't very political. Schneck is survived by her three children, seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.


By The Associated Press



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Gabrielle Giffords Terrorism