Giffords shooting accused ‘unfit for trial’, judge rules

THE man accused of gunning down US congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and killing six is mentally incompetent to stand trial, a judge ruled yesterday.

Jared Lee Loughner was dragged out of the courtroom because of an angry outburst. As survivors of the deadly January attack looked on, Loughner lowered his head, raised it and said what sounded like: “Thank you for the freak show. She died in front of me.”

His words were loud but mumbled, and it wasn’t clear who he was talking about. He wore a khaki prison suit and sported bushy, reddish sideburns.

US District Judge Larry Burns’ decision means the 21-year-old will be sent to a federal facility for up to four months in a bid to restore his competency.

The ruling came after Loughner spent five weeks in March and April at a federal facility in Missouri, where he was examined by two court-appointed mental health professionals.

The two were asked to determine whether Loughner understands the consequences of the case against him. The competency reports by psychologist Christina Pietz and psychiatrist Matthew Carroll haven’t been publicly released.

Loughner has pleaded not guilty to 49 federal charges stemming from the January 8 shooting in Tucson, Arizona, that wounded Giffords and 12 others and killed six people, including a nine-year-old girl and a federal judge.

After the outburst, two marshals standing behind Loughner’s chair grabbed him by each arm and led him from the courtroom.