Honoring the lives lost: 15 years since the Tucson shooting tragedy 

TUCSON, AZ — It has now been 15 years since the deadly shooting that changed our state and our country forever.

Back on Jan. 8, 2011, a gunman opened fire at an event hosted by former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords in Tucson.

Six people were killed, and 13 others were injured, including Giffords.

The "Congress on Your Corner" event was supposed to bring people together from across Giffords' district, but instead, it became a day where lives were ripped apart.

"I was in panic mode," explained Hailey, a 10-year-old student who came to the memorial to pay tribute to the victims. "I met her [Giffords] before. It was just last year, and now this happened. She's such a nice lady, really. Truly caring. She really wanted to get out and talk to the people."

Since that horrible day, we have stood by and marveled at the progress Giffords has made in her recovery.

We've also seen how Tucson honored the people we lost, like the youngest victim, Christina Taylor Green.

Green was just 9 years old at the time; there's now a park in Tucson dedicated in her honor.

"She's been dead longer than she's alive," explained Patricia Maisch to ABC15's Nick Ciletti back in 2022.

Patricia was at the event that day. Having arrived early, she went inside a store to make a purchase and lost her place in line - a decision that may have saved her life.

Patricia would go on to witness the gunman open fire, and in an act of heroism, two bystanders pinned him down while Patricia bravely reached for his ammunition.

"I was just following orders," Patricia explains, not wanting to take credit for helping to prevent the loss of even more innocent lives.

Patricia now dedicates her life to helping raise awareness for other victims of gun violence.

Victims​

Christina Taylor Green

Dorothy Morris

Judge John Roll

Phyllis Schneck

Dorwan Stoddard

Gabe Zimmerman

Survivors

Bill Badger

Fmr. Congressman Ron Barber

Ken Dorushka

James Eric Fuller

Randey Gardner

Fmr. Congresswoman Gabby Giffords

Suzi Hileman

George Morris

Mary Reed

Pam Simon

Mavanell Stoddar

Jim Tucker

Kenneth Veeder

First Responders

To learn more about the January 8 Memorial, click here.