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U.S. Congresswoman's condition improves

Gabrielle Giffords' condition has been upgraded by doctors one day after procedures to remove a ventilator from the U.S. congresswoman were successful.

Gabrielle Giffords' condition has been upgraded by doctors one day after procedures to remove a ventilator from the U.S. congresswoman were successful.

Doctors decided Sunday to upgrade her to serious from criticalbecause the tracheotomy doneSaturday went well, and Giffords, 40, was breathing on her own, hospital spokeswoman Katie Riley said.

Last weekend, Giffords was one of 19 people shot at a Safeway store in Tuscon, Ariz. Six people were killed.

Doctors upgraded the condition of U.S. congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords to serious from critical on Sunday, a day after a breathing tube was removed. ((Office of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords/Associated Press))
Thegrocery store where sheand 18 others were shot was the scene of another memorial service for the victims on Saturday.

Employees returning to work as the Safeway store opened for the first time since the shooting observed a moment of silence in the same parking lot whereagunman opened fire one week ago, killing six people, wounding 13. Gifford was shot in the head.

A Safeway supermarket in Tuscon, Ariz., opened its doors for the first time since a mass shooting left six people dead and critically injured U.S. congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. ((Carlos Chavez/Arizona Republic/Associated Press))

"I can't explain it, my stomach was in knots all the way coming up here. And then I saw the people, and I knew they want to be here with us to get through this together," Safeway employee Dawn Gallagher told NBC News.

Also on Saturday, one of thevictims was arrested and then taken for a psychiatric evaluation after authorities said he took a picture of a tea party leader at a televised town hall meeting and then yelled: "You're dead."

James Eric Fuller, 63, objected to something Trent Humphries said during the forum taped for a special edition of ABC's This Week with Christiane Amanpour, Pima County sheriff's spokesman Jason Ogan said.

Fuller was in the front row and apparently became upset when Humphries suggested that any conversations about gun control should be delayed until all the dead were buried, KGUN-TV in Tucson reported.

Fuller was arrested on misdemeanour disorderly conduct and threat charges, Ogan said. While Fuller was being escorted out, deputies decided he needed a mental health evaluation and he was taken to a hospital, where he remained.

Suspect's timeline before shooting

More details are coming out about what the suspect was allegedly doing before the shooting rampage.

The Pima County sheriff's department has released what it says is a timeline of the accused shooter's moves hours before the Saturday morning attack.

Authorities say the suspect went on an all-night excursion through the streets of his hometown on the eve of the shooting, which occurred shortly after 10 a.m. local time.

Jared Loughner, 22, went from store to store on a bizarre set of errands. At one point, he bought bullets at a Wal-Mart store.

He was later pulled over by a wildlife officer with the Arizona Game and Fish Department, but was let go because he wasn't acting suspicious.

Highlights of the Loughner timeline (local times):

  • 11:35 p.m. Friday, Jan. 7 - Drops off film at a Walgreens.
  • 12:35 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 8 - Checks into a motel.
  • 2:19 a.m. - Picks up photos.
  • 4:12 a.m. - Posts "Goodbye friends" message on Myspace, along with newly developed photos from Walgreens.
  • 7:27 a.m. - Buys bullets.
  • 7:30 a.m. - Pulled over by wildlife officer for running a red light.
  • 9:41 a.m. - Gets into a taxi and heads to Safeway.
  • 10:10 a.m. - First shots are fired in the parking lot of Safeway.

The Los Angeles Times also received a copy of a home video, released by Tucson's Pima Community College, which decided last September to suspend Loughner.

The college said Loughner shot the video on campus. In the video, the narrator calls Pima a "genocide school."

With files from The Associated Press