Jared Loughner leaves Arizona, returns to Missouri prison

TUCSON, AZ - The man who carried out the Tucson shooting rampage that wounded former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has been returned to the federal prison in Missouri where he has been treated for mental illness for about 18 months.

A judge sentenced Jared Lee Loughner to seven consecutive life sentences, plus 140 years, for the January 2011 shootings that killed six people and wounded 13 at a Giffords meet-and-greet event outside a grocery store.

Loughner has pleaded guilty to 19 federal charges.

The U.S. Marshals Service says Loughner was transported from Tucson on Tuesday to the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Mo.

The judge who sentenced Loughner recommended that he remain at the Missouri prison indefinitely, but it's up to federal prison officials where he will ultimately be incarcerated.