gabe zimmerman was a standout on campus. liked by both students and professors because he was dedicated, friendly and kind. they say he was des tipptined f public service. the flags fly at half staff, to remember the 30-year-old, one of six people killed in saturday's shooting rampage in tucson. he worked for congresswoman gabrielle giffords and organized the congress on your corner event. >> it's horrible. >> reporter: zimmerman earned a bachelor's in sociology and graduated with honors in 2002. students expressed grief over losing one of their own. >> it's disheartening in general. and in particular that that event would take place in the first place. really hits close to home. >> knowing it's a friend of a scholar. it's a horrible thing. >> reporter: the sociology professor describes zimmerman as friendly. >> a deep sense of frustration and tragedy. but at the same time a person who lived a purpose of life, a life of principle that i'm proud of. >> reporter: zimmerman was determined to make a difference in this world. as

the -- gabriel zimmerman. it represents a broad american public, young and old, men, women, and child, friends, brothers, sisters, and children . they will be missed. but not forgotten. this inexplicable crime reminds us there is evil in the world. yet as we look for light in a thicket of darkness, our nation has drawn inspiration from the bravery and quick thinking displayed by the heroes on the scene. were it not for their efforts, there likely would have been many more victims. the outpouring of support, prayer, and solidarity also reminds us that america is a country of compassion, community, and empathy. we will stand with the victims and their families and pray and mourn with them as they cope with this horrific tragedy. madam speaker, i also want to offer my thoughts of comfort to gabby giffords' staff and want them to know that our hearts hang heavy and our thoughts and prayers are with them. as they try and persevere through this very difficult time. madam speaker, i'd also like to add my thanks to th

the -- gabriel zimmerman. american public, young and old, men, women, and child, friends, brothers, sisters, and children . they will be missed. but not forgotten. this inexplicable crime reminds us there is evil in the world. yet as we look for light in a thicket of darkness, our nation has drawn inspiration from the bravery and quick thinking displayed by the heroes on the scene. were it not for their efforts, there likely would have been many more victims. the outpouring of support, prayer, and solidarity also reminds us that america is a country of compassion, community, and empathy. we will stand with the victims and their families and pray and mourn with them as they cope with this horrific tragedy. madam speaker, i also want to offer my thoughts of comfort to gabby giffords' staff and want them to know that our hearts hang heavy and our thoughts and prayers are with them. as they try and persevere through this very difficult time. madam speaker, i'd also like to add my thanks to the brave law enforcemen

th -- gabriel zimmerman.rican public, young and old, men, women, and child, friends, brothers, sisters, and children . they will be missed. but not forgotten. this inexplicable crime reminds us there is evil in the world. yet as we look for light in a thicket of darkness, our nation has drawn inspiration from the bravery and quick thinking displayed by the heroes on the scene. were it not for their efforts, there likely would have been many more victims. the outpouring of support, prayer, and solidarity also reminds us that america is a country of compassion, community, and empathy. we will stan with the victims and their families and pray and mourn with them as they cope with this horrific tragedy. madam speaker, i also want to offer my thoughts of comfort to gabby giffords' staff and want them to ow that our hearts hang heavy and our thoughts and prayers are with them. as they try and persevere through this very difficult time. madam speaker, i'd also like to add my thanks to the brave law enforcement that

the -- gabriel zimmerman. broad american public, young and old, men, women, and child, friends, brothers, sisters, and children . they will be missed. but not forgotten. this inexplicable crime reminds us there is evil in the world. yet as we look for light in a thicket of darkness, our nation has drawn inspiration from the bravery and quick thinking displayed by the heroes on the scene. were it not for their efforts, there likely would have been many more victims. the outpouring of support, prayer, and solidarity also reminds us that america is a country of compassion, community, and empathy. we will stand with the victims and their families and pray and mourn with them as they cope with this horrific tragedy. madam speaker, i also want to offer my thoughts of comfort to gabby giffords' staff and want them to know that our hearts hang heavy and our thoughts and prayers are with them. as they try and persevere through this very difficult time. madam speaker, i'd also like to add my thanks to the brave law enfo

. >> one of the six people has ties to northern california, congressional aid gabriel zimmerman graduatedrom u.c. santa cruz. >> the weekend appointment by outgoing gavin newsom. >> a live look from ballmer peak this morning. from the east bay looking to the west. look how clear it is. very cold this morning. find fog just about everywhere and the threat of freezing drizzle in the forecast tonight. >> no major traffic problems but if you don't have fas trak there is a minor wait right now at the bay bridge toll plaza. >> good morning. it is 4:31 this monday. thank you for starting the week with us. i'm kristen sze. >> i'm eric thomas. there's going to be plenty of buzz this morning at san francisco's hall of justice. that's where george gascon will move out of the police chief's office to his new job as district attorney. it was one of gavin newsom's final appointments yesterday. >>> as district attorney for the city and county of san francisco. >> congratulations. (applause) >> gorge gascon was sworn in as district attorney one day after he was offered the job. he didn't even seek the po

. >>> john mccarthy role, gabriel zimmerman, fill his sclneck and dorothy morris 76, were some of the victims. >>> ktvu's heather holmes is now in oakland. >> reporter: julie, imagine you've just finished your shopping, you're standing out here outside your locasafeway and you're faced with a gunman. what do you do? three people took heroic measures. >> reporter: the chaos and carnage ended when witnesses saw a chance and took it. bill badger made a move to bring down the gunman. >> somebody else took a chair and they hit him on the back of the head and he slumped forward. that gave me the opportunity to grab his left arm, and put my other hand up in his back and shove him down. >> reporter: badger and another man secured the shooter on the ground. >> he started hollering, but we held him there. >> reporter: the suspect was down but still tried to reload his gun. >> he dropped it out of his pocket, he was down and i was able to get it before he got it. >> daniel hernandez, a university of arizona junior showed no fear in the face of gunfire. >> reporter: arizona governor jan brewer le

. >>> john mccarthy role, gabriel zimmerman, fill his sclneck and dorothy morris 76, were some of the victims. >>> ktvu's heather holmes is now in oakland. >> reporter: julie, imagine you've just finished your shopping, you're standing out here outside your local safeway and you're faced with a gunman. what do you do? three people took heroic measures. >> reporter: the chaos and carnage ended when witnesses saw a chance and took it. bill badger made a move to bring down the gunman. >> somebody else took a chair and they hit him on the back of the head and he slumped forward. that gave me the opportunity to grab his left arm, and put my other hand up in his back and shove him down. >> reporter: badger and another man secured the shooter on the ground. >> he started hollering, but we held him there. >> reporter: the suspect was down but still tried to reload his gun. >> he dropped it out of his pocket, he was down and i was able to get it before he got it. >> daniel hernandez, a university of arizona junior showed no fear in the face of gunfire. >> reporter: arizona governor jan brewer

a gunman killed six people, including 30-year-old zimmerman. his passion for public service blossomed here at uc santa cruz, where he graduated in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in sociology. >> students all loved him. a kind guy, i remember that. >> reporter: santa cruz is home to the banana slugs, a tight-knit university with breath-taking views. students felt a kinship with zimmerman. >> it affects the uc community. >> we're tight-knit in terms of mindset here. so it's kind of saddening. >> i was shocked. because i just heard about the shooting a couple days ago. knowing that it was a student from santa cruz, it was like more shocking. >> reporter: in a statement university chancellor george blumenthal said gabe's work on behalf of the arizona 8th congressional district showed his passion nat commitment. his professor said zimmerman was passionate about spearheading changes that really helped people. >> it's just an enormous loss. and all of us are proud of him. from the sociology department and the campus. >> reporter: proud to know the cham

nothing pretentious about this ordinary individual who was anything but ordinary. >> gabriel zimmerman was just 30, an aide to the congresswoman. he was recently engaged. his friends still in disbelief. >> it's hard to bear losing him. it is. >> 79-year-old phyllis schneck was a retiree who spent winters in tucson. her daughter, now struggling to understand how someone could shoot her mother in cold blood and why. >> i don't think she had an enemy in the world. everybody loved her. >> dorothy morris' loved ones also want answers. the 76-year-old's husband was wounded in the shooting spree. she was killed. the collective grief for the six victims a reminder what unfolded in a few minutes has changed this community forever. and six people are in fair condition here at the hospital, three people are in serious condition, one person is critical. that person, congresswoman giffords. lester. >> kristen, thanks. you mentioned the 9-year-old victim, christina taylor green. she was born on september 11th, 2001, a birthday that defined her life but in ways you might not expect. it's part of the

. >> reporter: many paid tribute to giffords' fallen staffer, gabe zimmerman. >> gabe zimmerman died doing what he loved-- serving the people of arizona. >> reporter: and inevitably, the national debate over political rhetoric spilled on to the house floor. >> it's not okay to spit, to say racial slurs, to say "reload" or to arm in reference to debate. >> this is no time for assigning blame to anyone but the gunman. >> reporter: members were briefed today by the f.b.i. and capitol police. their security concerns driven home by the arrest of a california man just today for threatening to kill washington state congressman jim mcdermott and his family. >> at the end of the day, i think it's going to still be our local sheriffs, our local city policemen that we're going to have to lean on a little bit more to let them know where we are and what we're doing. >> reporter: but so many members spoke on the house floor today saying they would not allow one act of violence to deter them from one of their most basic duties: meeting with constituents. katie. >> couric: nancy cordes, thanks very

all the political vitriol around these days, and gabe zimmerman was nice to everyone.uck up for people. said his friend. >> those who are disenfranchised, those that didn't have a voice, he felt passionate about. >> reporter: gabe zimmerman, just 30, gone now. dorwan's stoddard standing in line to see representative giffords. what they intended to say to her, we don't know now. we do know they were childhood sweethearts who fell in love when their first spouses died. he was a minister at mountain avenue church of christ, just up the road from the grocery store. if you needed to fix a sidewalk or help a needy person, dorwan is who you'd call. >> dory would step up to the plate and throw his self on a grenade for anybody. whether it was spiritually, physically, financially, he wasn't one who stood back and let the other guy do it. >> reporter: maybe dorwan and his wife intended to go out to breakfast after meeting the congresswoman. instead he fell on her body to shield her from the bullets. he died. she lived. there were two women of the most impressive accomplishments,

zimmerman graduated from u.c.z in 2002 with a degree in sociology. >> at san francisco's hall of justice, gorge gascon will be moving into the district attorney's office after he was sworn in as the city's new d.a. gascon has been police chief the last 18 months. while advising newsom about the post when gascon was offered the job. the latest on these stories at 6:00. a stunning new theory on a factor causing autism possibly. a preliminary study on california suggest if a second child is born less than two years after their older sibling, that younger child is more likely to be autistic compared to babies born three years after their older sibling. that was true no matter the parents' age. babies born less than two years apart now count for 18% of births, a rising percentage due to mothers delays childbirth. the study is in today's pediatrics journal. >> it's 5:50 now. the trans atlanta -- let me do this again. road sites in atlanta and other areas of the deep south are littered with stranded vehicles this morning

zimmerman, 30, was an aide to rep. was hosting an event in a safeway parking lot when a 22-year-old man opened fire. twenty people were shot, including six who died. the two ucsc alumni who established the scholarship fund have no relationship to zimmerman, but they received approval from the shooting victim's family. the fund has had a facebook page since about noon wednesday and has already garnered more than $3,000 through facebook donations, he said. those interested in donating should search on facebook for "zimmerman scholarship." to >> we have continuing coverage in the arizona shooting aftermath on our website we've pros did the entire speech from last night's memorial at www.kron4.com. >> we're taking a peak of of our roof on van ness, it looks pretty, but there, the roads have been pretty quiet let's go to church. >> indeed they have become start to the morning commute even now continuing along interstate 80 traffic coming down for hercules to berkeley is moving well it is only at 12 minute drive time with li

zimmerman, 30, was an aide to rep.le giffords, who was hosting an event in a safeway parking lot when a 22-year-old man opened fire. twenty people were shot, including six who died. the two ucsc alumni who established the scholarship fund have no relationship to zimmerman, but they received approval from the shooting victim's family. the fund has had a facebook page since about noon wednesday and has already garnered more than $3,000 through facebook donations, he said. those interested in donating should search on facebook for "zimmerman scholarship." back to bay area weather. more on the rain. >> takes look at san jose overcast conditions. we are seeing that bay area wide. it is raining elsewhere but not at san jose mostly in the north bay, trickling down to the bay area. valley fog will send in this evening. the holiday weekend we will see dry air and warmer conditions. this green showing where it is raining right now. a closer look to the north bay in san rosa, run the park, napa all getting rain right now. san raf

(applause) gabe zimmerman also killed was only 30 years old. he was soon to be married, devoted to social work and a fighter for justice. (applause) there is absolutely no measure in the idea that the void someone like gabe leaves behind. we also lost christina taylor green. (applause) born on another day of unparalleled sadness, september 11, 2001, christina was only nine years old. she was a new member of the student council at mesa verde elementary school. she loved ballet, swimming and baseball. we can never know what christina might have become. we can't imagine what the families of our six innocent neighbors are feeling nor can we know the pain of the wounded, some of whom are still struggling for their lives. saturday's gunfire didn't simply take six lives, injure my friend gabby giffords, and injure several others. it pierced our sense of well-being. it raised questions of which we can make no sense, questions begging for answers that will not come any time soon. i know this, though, arizona is united in a mission of recovery. this stat

madam speaker, i did not know gabrielle zimmerman, but i know a -- i did not know gabriel zimmerman, but i know a lot of great young people who decide to dedicate themselves to public service and work on my staff and i know how they are part of my extended family. i didn't know dorwin stoddard, phyllis schneck, dorothy morris , but their -- they're parents, they're grandparents, they're spouses and we think of our own family. i didn't know judge john roll but again, somebody who committed their lives to public service, and last but not least, i don't know christina taylor green, i didn't have that pleasure. a 9-year-old child, thrilled to learn about our representative democracy, and brought down in an act of evil. i never met her but i think about my 8-year-old daughter and i think about my 7-year-old son and how they learn about their father's business. and so all of us come together in this time of mourning but this time of resolution. we mourn the loss of these great american citizens but we resolve that the representative democracy that -- democracy, that the traditions of the h

[applause] gave zimmerman, who unfortunately we lost that day.r, the first responders, and also people like dr. rhee, who've done an amazing job in making certain gabby is ok and those that are injured are being treated to the best of our ability. [applause] thank you. we have all come together to realize that what a fine says is not the differences, it is that we are all together, we are all a family, we are all americans. we must recognize that the real heroes i mentioned are those that dedicated their life to public service, whether direct care in nursing, or being a position, or being a great representative like congresswoman giffords, or being a staffer, they are the people we should be honoring and they are the people we need to keep and our thoughts and prayers. i thank you for this opportunity but i say we must reject the title of hero and reserve it for those who deserve it, and those who deserve it are the public servants in the first responders and the people making sure they have dedicated their life to taking care about is. with that

. >> one of the victims to the shooting was a uc-santa cruz alum, gabriel zimmerman. he was an aid to congresswoman giffords. today the father talked about his son on the cbs early slow. >> he grew up into somebody who -- who as well as being my son, is very much my best friend. and i keep encountering things where i want to talk to him about something and then i have to say, oh, gosh, i can't. so what do i do? >> zimmerman directed his passion for helping people into the work for the congresswoman. there will be a vigil at the southwest corner of broadway and civic drive at 5:30 to 6:30. organizers are asking people who attend to bring both a flashlight as well as a candle. >>> investigators into the tucson massacre questioned a bay area legislator about death threats received last year. state senator leland yee criticized sarah palin when she appeared at uc stanislaus last spring. received threatening e-mails after those comments but officials aren't saying whether there is a link between the threats and saturday's attack. they said they are just following up on sim

that's where a memorial was held for zimmerman today. he had become the director of community outreach for congresswoman giffords. the congresswoman herself survived the shooting rampage, and doctors say she could be just days away from getting out of the hospital and into rehab. >> it could be a matter of days or weeks. it's a matter of getting all that information from our own therapists when they think she's ready to move forward. >> giffords underwent a pair of surgeries over the weekend, and her husband says she was able to give him a bedside back rub. >>> well, if you suffer from migraines as i do, you know they can be debilitating. massive head pain, horrible nausea and scorching sensitivity to light and noise. the combination of symptoms that can leave you in tears. but tonight there's a medical breakthrough in the bay area, one that promises to relieve your headache in just one procedure. vicky nguyen has more. >> pit in your stomach, you vomit and can't move. sometimes they last up to three days. i would rather have a baby with

. >> i didn't know gabriel zimmerman. when i heard this story and heard he was a graduate of my alma-mater, it hit me hard as it hit a lot of people. i felt this was a gentleman who was doing all of the right things. >> the gabriel zimmerman scholarship fund will help financially chal eng led uc students who intend to make a career in public service. you can find a link on abc7news.com under see it on tv. >>> and there is more to come this evening on the tribute in tucson. a special hour-longed decision of "nightline" will air after our newscast at 11:35 here on abc7. >>> in other news, hayward police have arrested a teenager in the shooting of his father. police found the teen in a park near the shooting scene. officers say he had a gun on him. witnesses told the oakland tribune that the man is 15 years old. they also say they heard shouting before the shooting. the 36-year-old father is in the hospital with a head wound. >>> the san jose police released this surveillance video after a hit-and-run accident left a 15-year

. >> reporter: today, ross zimmerman, father of victim gabe zimmerman, a recently engaged aide to congresswoman giffords, got a call from the head of fbi, who said there are indications that gabe threw himself into the fray when the bullets started flying. >> he will never grow old. never see his kids. we will remember our fine strong 30-year-old son and brother or fiancÉ. >> reporter: it now appears dorwin stoddard died heroically too, protecting his wife and high school sweetheart mavy. >> when he pulled her down, he fell on top of her. she said he saved her life. >> reporter: dorothy and george morris were high school sweethearts as well, married 55 years. george survived, dorothy, a 76-year-old homemaker, did not. >> i'm sure that she took such good care of george that he will be lost without her. >> reporter: others who died included the federal judge john roll, who had just left saturday morning mass. and phyllis schneck, who loved her volunteer work, her cooking and the son and daughter she leaves behind. >> what will you miss most about your mother? >> everything. >> reporter: all of th

gabe zimmerman and dorwin stoddard were among the six people killed during the shooting rampage. zimmerman was a staffer for giffords and stoddard as you saw there attended the event at safeway with his wife and threw himself in front of her during the shooting. meantime the people of tucson gathered today to walk for peace. >> we want to show the entire community, hey, look, we care, we're here, and this happened in our back yard but we're not going to put up with it. >> "the new york times" reports during his arrest jared lee loughner told police i plead the fifth. bank tellers tell the police when loughner used to enter their building they would "feel for the alarm button shaken by his demeanor quochlt and the fbi has retrieved surveillance video from the safeway where cameras captured the shootings on video. that material is being held for trial. stay with nbc bay area for complete coverage of the arizona shootings and the latest updates as that story develops as well. >>> on a significantly different note, you watched it right here on nbc bay area. hollywood's foreign press

one victim was dave zimmerman who received a degree from uc, santa cruz. he got his mast ears in social work at arizona state university of social work and that's where a memorial was held for zimmerman today. zimmerman, the director of community outreach for congresswoman giffords. the congresswoman survived. the doctors say shebd actually be days from getting out of the hospital and going into rehab. >> it could be a matter of days to weeks. again, it's a matter of getting all that information from our own therapists when they think she's ready to move forward with that. >> giffords had two surgeries over the weekend. her husband says she was actually able to give him a bedside back rub this weekend. >>> palo alto's rash of armed robberies is prompting homeow r homeowners to call a community meeting tonight. 20 robberies have been reported in the city since mid-september, many of them holdups of pedestrians or residents outside their own moments. police chief dennis byrnes will be on hand. that meeting will be wednesday at 7:00 at the community center th

who established a scholarship fund has no relationship to zimmerman but are received approval from the family. it has a facebook page and has 3000 donations through facebook. people interested can search on facebook. we will continue to cover the shootings and aftermath and the recovery of the congresswoman as well. we have everything posted including the speech from the memorial on our web site at www.kron4.com. >> like to get you can upon whether james fletcher has more. >> you have to look to the north bay to see it falling now. we'll have read are the second. san mateo bridge traffic flowing. current temperature on the other side to the bay is 46, getting up to 60 this afternoon, 58 is the temperature you talk about that. we have been following the band of showers through petaluma, it is moving east, showers around concord, it is falling from vallejo, down to the concord, it down to these bay hills. that is 580 there. no it's not it's highway 24. so far things are light, which took measurements. it is not bad but enough to make the road stamp. be careful of that. here of the temper

zimmerman, lost his life. yes, bob, i think members and staff are shaken by this event. i share speaker boehner's view and the views that have been expressed by the two united states senators. this is not simply an attack on ms. giffords. this is an attack on democracy itself, on the ability, as she said in that reading of the first amendment, to peaceably assembly, to come together, to talk to one another. that's what democracy is all about. representatives listening to their constituents and trying to reflect their views. >> schieffer: you know, congresswoman giffords had received threats before. that's something that we might have overlooked here. her office was trashed during the health care debate. when she showed up on sarah palin's political action committee web site as one of those who had been targeted for defeat, it shows her in the crosshairs there. she warned herself that this kind of thing could have serious repercussions. let's listen. >> we need to realize that the rhetoric and firing people up and, you know, even things, for example, we're on sarah palin'

>> i think we just know that it's what gabriel zimmerman and congresswoman giffords would have wanted, to have the office continue, for us to be helping constituents. >> reporter: randy gardner is a semi-retired former mental health worker who went to the safeway to talk to his congresswoman. he was standing about 20 feet way from hummel-rajca, talking to 79-year old phyllis schneck, when the shooting started. >> then we heard the pop, pop, pop very quickly. and it was difficult to see. i never saw the shooter, and yet he was somewhere in front of me. i turned around and told her, "lets go." and right at that point, i got hit. i took a step, got hit. i turned around to see what she was doing. >> reporter: mrs. schneck was killed. a nine-millimeter bullet passed through gardner's foot. >> it came in here at the lower level. and it supposedly danced around here for a little bit and then out here. i've got two dime-sized holes on either side. >> reporter: this is not the first time gardener has been at the scene of a mass killing. he was in the crowd at kent state university in 1970 when

(applause) everything-- everything gabe zimmerman did he did with passion. (cheers and applause) but his true passion was helping people. as gabby's outreach director, he made the cares of thousands of her constituents his own. saw to it that seniors got the medicare benefits that they had earned, that veterans got the medals and the care that they deserved. that government was working for ordinary folks. he died doing what he loved: talking with people and seeing how he could help. gabe is survived by his parents, ross and emily, his brother ben and his fiance kelly who he planned to marry next year. (applause) and then there is nine-year-old christina taylor green. christina was an a student, she was a dancer, she was a gymnast, she was a swimmer. she decided that she wanted to be the first woman to play in the major leagues and as the only girl on her little league team, no one put it past her. (cheers and applause) she showed an appreciation for life uncommon for a girl her age. she'd remind her mother "we are so blessed. we have the best life." and she'

. ---- gabriel zimmerman era ayudante de la congresista giffords...rsidad de california en santa cruz en 2002 ....y tenia 30 aÑos de edad .... ---- la legisladora democrata gabrielle giffords ahora se debate entre la vida y la muerte. ---aunque esta muy grave, los medicos dicen que tiene posibilidades de recuperarse. take vo ----en tanto, hoy el presidente de la nacion y la primera dama michelle obama ... hicieron un minuto de silencio. ---esto, para honrar a las victimas del asesinato masivo en tucson. ----- aparecieron los dos en uno de los jardines de la casa blanca, con unos 300 empleados de la casa presidencial. ---- tambien hubo un minuto de silencio en el capitolio. cu ---regresamos a la bahia : el nuevo fiscal de distrito de san francisco es alguien muy conocido por todos... george gascon... ahora, ex-jefe de la policia de esa ciudad... take vo ---gascon surgio como candidato a ocupar la vacante dejada por kamala harris luego que varios aspirantes no reunieran los requisitos que exige el puesto (y los criterios del alcalde gavin newsom) ... --

the people that are heros is the congresswoman, gabe zimmerman who we lost that day. ron barber.onders. and also people like dr. reed who have done an amazing job at making sure that gabby is okay and those who are injured are being treated to the best of our ability. [ cheers and applause ] .. >> thank you. we have all come together to realize that what defines us is not the differences, it is that we are all together, we are all a family, we are all americans. and we must recognize that the real heros like i mentioned are the people who have dedicated their life to public service. whether it is direct care in nursing or being a physician or being a great representative like congresswoman giffords or being a staffer, they are the people who we should be honoring. and they are the people we need to keep in our thoughts and prayers. so i thank you for this opportunity. but i say we must reject the title of hero and reserve is for those who deserve it and those who deserve it are the public servants and first responders and people who have made sure that they have dedicated their l

we lost an amazing staff member, gabe zimmerman. he was an integral part of our staff, but also an amazing human being and helped serve so many people and we've just been -- we opened yesterday and we just keep taking the constituency, they want to leave their sympathy and we are happy to take that. it's a great deal of support to know that the community is there for us and have been leaving flowers and signs as well on our corner and, i mean, we're distraught and it's kind of an emotional roller coaster right now but we're just trying to function and stay positive with the positive news we hear about the congresswoman and our other staff members. >> mark kimble, obviously as long-time journalist, editor of the daily newspaper for so many years, you have written these stories of carnage and bloodshed and of course somewhat as we all have been who cover these stories, detached from it. this came home to you. this was people you know, people you worked with. people you loved. this was your family. i can't even imagine what you've gone

. >> gabe zimmerman, also killed, was only 30 years old. he was soon to be married, devoted to social work and a fighter for justice. >> arizona governor jan brewer also spoke tonight, rebounding uc santa cruz graduate zimmerman. he was a congressional aide to gabrielle giffords. they also created a scholarship in his honor that will challenge students who tend to make a career in public service. find a link for contributions on abc7.com under see it on tv. >>> a candle light vigil was held in oakland tonight for the victims of saturday's shooting rampage. organizers say they want to condemn political violence and violence in the local community. leigh glaser was at the vigil and is in the newsroom with more on it. >> reporter: tonight's gathering was yet another call for unity for communities across the country to come together to support the victims of the tucson shooting and to make sure this kind of violence never happens again. tonight's candlelight vigil actually took place at oakland city hall. the candles were held in solemn reminde

. >> there were two more memorials in tucson, one for gabriel zimmerman and another for 79-year-old fillt sneek. they were among the six who died. more encouraging news for doctors keeping watch over gabrielle giffords who was shot in the head at close range. they removed her breathing tube and performed a tracheotomy on saturday. they are still calling her progress remarkable though she remains in intensive care. >> now giffords is free of the ventilator and having an easier time of breathing and doctors hope to evaluate her ability to speak. >> and you can see the town hall meeting this morning in a special this week after the tragedy, an american conversation, continues. it airs here at abc 7 at 8:00 this morning. the victims of the tucson shooting were honored here in the bay area this weekend at an annual non-violence rally in san jose. yesterday's 12th annual martin luther king jr. stop the violence event at evergreen valley college was dedicated to the congresswoman and other victims. it included a prayer for peace, a talent show, and several speakers promoting violence prevention

(applause) everything-- everything gabe zimmerman did he did with passion. (cheers and applause) but his true passion was helping people. as gabby's outreach director, he made the cares of thousands of her constituents his own. saw to it that seniors got the medicare benefits that they had earned, that veterans got the medals and the care that they deserved. that government was working for ordinary folks. he died doing what he loved: talking with people and seeing how he could help. gabe is survived by his parents, ross and emily, his brother ben and his fiance kelly who he planned to marry next year. (applause) and then there is nine-year-old christina taylor green. christina was an a student, she was a dancer, she was a gymnast, she was a swimmer. she decided that she wanted to be the first woman to play in the major leagues and as the only girl on her little league team, no one put it past her. (cheers and applause) she showed an appreciation for life uncommon for a girl her age. she'd remind her mother "we are so blessed. we have the best life." and she'

. >> 30-year-old gabe zimmerman worked as an aide to representative gifford. more than $5,000 has been donated. the school hopes to raise 10 times that amount for a new endowment. >>> another vigil in the bay area for the victims of the tucson tragedy, scheduled for 7:00 at the first often tearian church. >> arrests and now a possible motive in a bay area murder that happened a year ago. four suspected gang members are now in custody for the killing of 24-year-old duey tucker, a musician that played bass with entertainer lauren hill. the suspects mistook tucker for a rival gang member. >> i just want to say this is, obviously, a very bittersweet day. it has been a long year. >> now, we have some kind of closure because we know somewhat of why he died and was taken from us. >> a 159-year-old is accused of pulling the trigger in the tucker case. he was arrested for a murder in santa rosa over the weekend and then charged with killing tucker. >> nearly three dozen poll picker jobs are on the line. >> how you pay to cross the golden gate bridge may be changing. a

while across town, there was a memorial for gabe zimmerman. >> he was charismatic and patient at the same time. passionate. >> reporter: the memorial outside the safeway continued to grow monday. it's also where security cameras are located that captured the shooting on tape. it's now in the hands of the fbi and described as particularly gruesome. >>> on this holiday, many people hit the rails and pavement today to mark the birthday of martin luther king jr. passengers boarded freedom trains in san jose this morning, bound for san francisco. and once they arrived, they sang songs as they marched through city streets. this march was canceled last year, but this time, people were happy to recall the life and lessons of the civil rights leader. >> he wants justice between all races of people and he did many speeches about all this justice and injustice that america was doing. >> the march ended at the martin luther king memorial. leaders such as nancy pelosi said king's message of nonviolence was especially poignant following the recent shootings in anthony a. >>> despite the sunshine t

six victims lost their lives, including federal judge john roll, giffords' aide, gabe zimmerman, and kristine greene. 9-1-1 tapes released paint a picture of the sheer chaos at the time of the shooting. the suspect, 22-year-old jared loughner, remains in fbi custody as investigators probe possible connections to extremist groups. loughner bought the murder weapon, a glock 19-millimeter handgun at the sportsmen warehouse in tucson. he was only stopped on saturday when three bystanders enter veeped. >> fortunate the spring in the magazine failed, and the two gentlemen war able to get it away from him and subdue him. >> reporter: authorities had been looking for a person of interest who they thought may have helped loughner with the shootings. turns out he was just a cab driver who dropped loughner off but had no idea what was about to happen. >> alan: we still don't know the exact motive for the sheeting in arizona, but the congresswoman had recently addressed threats against her. now lawmakers on both sides of the aisle say the political rhetoric has gotten out of hand. here's more on

gabe zimmerman, a 30-year-old outreach victim.udge roll going to mass that morning. 76-year-old dorwin stoddard shot while trying to protect his wife. also 76, dorothy morris, she's a retired homemaker and secretary whose husband has also been injured in the shooting. and finally 79-year-old phyllis schneck. she was a widow there to meet with giffords. she said she had voted for the congresswoman even though she was conservative. just so sad those six people who lost their lives on saturday. >> and mrs. schneck is also from the new jersey area and wabc had a lovely piece on her on how she liked to sew jets and giants aprons for her church fund-raiser so we were thinking, as you said, george, of all six of the families this morning. and christina's mom and dad, and you alluded to it, a lot of people wonder how are you able to talk so soon after such a tragedy? but it really does bring families comfort to be able to let us know about their loved ones, doesn't it, george? >> there is just no question about it. it just filled their he

physical wounds are still healing, but the pain of losing six people, including fellow staffer gabe zimmerman, will last a lifetime. >> i think there are almost no words when you have that kind of loss of life, especially when they are people that did nothing more than do what good citizens do. >> reporter: randy gardner is also a survivor. in a chilling coincidence, he was a student at kent state in 1970 when the ohio national guard opened fire on students protesting the war in vietnam. >> in some ways it seems like we have just as much anger today as we had then. >> reporter: today, pima county sheriff's department released emergency dispatch calls deploying deputies. >> we have a caller who believes that gabrielle giffords was shot. that's multiple victims. >> reporter: and reports from the first to reach the scene. >> we have at least seven, eight, maybe ten gunshot victims here. we're going to need pd here, as well. >> reporter: tucson continues to say goodbye. mourners came to pay their respects as 63-year-old federal judge john roll was laid to rest. dark days for a community shrouded

among them gabe zimmerman, giffords' community outreach director who had recently been engaged to be married. the congresswoman's friend and federal judge john roll and 9-year-old christina taylor green who was recently elected to the student council at her school. representative giffords, who is 40 and started her third term in the house this past wednesday and is married to astronaut mark kelly. she was air-lifted to the arizona university medical center where she was immediately rushed into surgery. throughout the day there were conflicting reports about her status but at around 2:00 in the afternoon doctors emerged to announce that congresswoman giffords was alive and out of surgery. >> she is in critical condition. they've finished operating on her and i'm optimistic about recovery. >> reporter: the suspect, jared lee loughner, who neighbors describe as a loner posted a message on his myspace account shortly before the shooting entitled "good-bye friends." then it says, "dear friends, please don't be mad at me." >> he has kind of a troubled past. i can tell you that. and we're n

. >> families and friends said good-bye to two more of the victims sunday. 30-year-old gabe zimmerman, a congressional aide and -- who was killed shielding his wife. >> one of the shooting victims is still undergoing a psychiatric evaluation after being arresteddiest. eric fuller snapped a picture and said you're dead at a town hall meeting this. game after trent humphrey said talk of gun control should wait until everyone from the shooting is buried. first on the agenda for house republicans, repealing president obama's health care law. >> lawmakerslawmakers are making promises. >> we need to start watching what we say. >> reporter: and they're taking action. >> my colleague called for democrats and republicans to sit together at the state of the union. i called up tom and egregiously agreed we're going to sit together. >>> people are reach across the aisle next week, but this week, they plan to debate a measure, repealing president obama's health care bill. >> the real problems in health care is it costs too much. we've expanded the coverage but have not worked on the cost. >> any r

. >> reporter: there were two more memorial's, one for giffords' aide, gabrielle zimmerman, and another for phyllis schneck. and encouraging news from doctors keeping watch over congresswoman gabrielle giffords, who was shot in the head at close range. they removed her breathing tube and performed a tracheotomy. she romaines in intensative care. >> i know she is going to recover. i just know it. >> reporter: encouraging words. enough giffords is free of the ventilator and having an easier time breathing from what doctors say. they hope they will soon be able to evaluate her able to -- ability to speak. >> terry: thanks very much. you can see the town hall meeting leslie was talking about tomorrow morning in a special "this week, after the tragedy, an american conversation continues. ". >> the tucson shootings have re-ignited the always smoldering issue of gun rights, in a different way. >> lisa: thousands fill the cow palace to attend the crossroads of the west gun show. >> free membership and a free ticket into the show. >> lisa: the same promoter is holding a gun show in tucson this w