As soon as the news broke of U.S. Rep.Gabrielle Giffords' shooting, eyes began to turn to Sarah Palin's "target list," that now infamous graphic featuring a map filled with crosshairs.
The news that U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat from Arizona, and 16 people were shot in a grocery store in Tucson, Ariz., has prompted some people to blame former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for the horrific tragedy. On Saturday morning, a gunman opened fire on Giffords and others in the crowd in a Safeway as she was partaking in a version of a town hall which she called "Your Corner."
The shooting spree has so far taken the lives of six, including a federal judge and child thought to be about 9 years old, and has left Giffords in critical care following surgery.
As soon as the news broke, eyes began to turn to Sarah Palin's "target list," that now infamous graphic featuring a map filled with crosshairs targeting Democrats and moderate Republicans in vulnerable congressional districts. Giffords was among the 20 incumbents on that list. The map, which had been on Palin's website until the news broke, is still on her Facebook page.
Twitter and Palin's own Facebook page are exploding with accusations:
"You're a disgrace of a person! This is ALL your fault for exciting violence in America. Continue killing your wolves but stop making your minions kill politicians. This bulleyes list produced by you is most likely the reason for today's incident," one person wrote.
Another wrote this: "Well I guess Sarah can mark Gabrielle Giffords as "taken care of" on her target hit list. She must be so proud of herself!"
The posts are being rapidly erased. The discussion board on her page, however, is filled with posts blaming Palin for the shooting.
Meantime, Palin has written the following on her Facebook wall:
"My sincere condolences are offered to the family of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the other victims of today's tragic shooting in Arizona. On behalf of Todd and my family, we all pray for the victims and their families, and for peace and justice."
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"All conscience dreaming at this moment is asleep. Jared Loughner is conscience dreaming at this moment. Thus, Jared Loughner is asleep."
Many are urging calm and an end to accusations until more is learned. One person tweeted:
"I mean, almost zero facts are known and you're already trying to pin it on your enemies. At least pretend to wait before jerking your knee."
Another wrote: "The coverage and hyperbole over this violent act are not surprising but is disgusting."
Last March, Giffords' Tucson office was vandalized a few hours after the U.S. House voted to overhaul the nation's health care system. In an interview with MSNBC about the vandalism, she said, "Sarah Palin has the crosshairs of a gun-sight over our district and when people do that, they've gotta realize there are consequences to that action."
Contact Amanda Coyne at amanda(at)alaskadispatch.com.