Investigators revealed more disturbing details about the events leading up to the assassination attempt against Democratic Representative Gabrielle Giffords, including a handwritten note in the suspect's home with the words "Die, bitch".
And on the day of the shooting, a mumbling Jared Loughner ran into the desert near his home after his father asked him why he was removing a black bag from the trunk of a family car, sheriff's officials said. Loughner resurfaced later on Saturday, when authorities say he showed up at a grocery store in a taxi and shot 19 people, killing six, including a federal judge and a 9-year-old girl.
Investigators provided the new details to The Associated Press and said they're still searching for the bag. They suspect it could contain clues into Loughner's motives.
"The bag is very important to us," said captain Chris Nanos, head of the Pima County Sheriff's Department's criminal investigations division. "What was in that bag and is there any relevance?"
Authorities said they found handwritten notes in Loughner's safe reading, "I planned ahead," "My assassination" and the name "Giffords." Nanos and Rick Kastigar, the department's chief of investigations, told the AP they also found notes with the words "Die, bitch," which they believe referenced Giffords, and "Die, cops."
All the writings were either in an envelope or on an actual form letter Giffords' office sent him in 2007 after he attended her political events, Nanos said.
Sheriff's deputies had been to the Loughner home at least once before the attack, spokesman Jason Ogan said. He didn't know why or when the visit occurred, and said department lawyers were reviewing the paperwork and expected to release it on Wednesday.
Loughner's parents, silent and holed up in their home since the shooting spree, apologized.
"There are no words that can possibly express how we feel," Randy and Amy Loughner wrote in a statement handed to reporters waiting outside their house.
(中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑)
About the broadcaster:
Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is also fluent in Korean.