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It seems that even if Jared Loughner didn’t own a gun, his murderous plan to attack Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords would have been carried out anyway.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Office says, in addition to the semi-automatic Glock handgun Loughner used to shoot 19 people, killing six, he also carried with him a knife — it wasn’t a huge knife, but it was definitely large enough to kill the congresswoman, his apparent target, had he decided to stab her rather than shoot her.
Following his arrest, deputies found a four-inch buck knife on Loughner’s person, as well as the Glock and two 15-round ammunition clips.
Also found on Loughner was a plastic bag containing his driver’s license, a Visa card, and cash.
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Loughner’s alleged rampage was cut short by four heroic bystanders who seized an opportunity to tackle the crazed gunman before he was able to reload his weapon.
Below is an account of how it went down provided to New Times by the PCSO:
On Saturday, January 8, 2011, Jared Loughner opened fire at a “Congress on Your Corner” event held by Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Loughner had already fired 31 rounds from a Glock 19 with an extended magazine, hitting 19 people. Even though the first magazine was empty, Loughner had no intention of ceasing this vicious attack.
During a lull of gunfire, Bill Badger and Roger Salzgeber took the opportunity to tackle Loughner, who was still trying to reload his weapon. Badger, who had been grazed by a bullet and was bleeding from the head, and Salzgeber held strong while Loughner struggled to get free.
Patricia Maisch was on the ground when Badger and Salzgeber took Loughner down. Maisch, who saw that Loughner was still trying to reload, grabbed the magazine and held tight, preventing Loughner from successfully reloading. Maisch was not yet done helping! She held fast to Loughner’s feet to prevent him from kicking and trying to get free.
Joseph Zamudio had just finished shopping at Walgreens when he noticed the commotion at Safeway. Zamudio made a quick decision and ran towards the danger! Zamudio took over restraining Loughner’s legs so Maisch could tend to Badger’s wounds.
