Accused described as ‘troubled and disturbed’ loner

AN initial portrait of the man accused of shooting congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and killing six others began to emerge yesterday.

Authorities in Arizona described a young man with a troubled past and neighbours recalled a loner.

One former classmate said the accused gunman, Jared Loughner, 22, often did his own thing. Another described him as a student who disrupted class with occasional outbursts.