TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — It was an event that shook much of Tucson, and put some people on a path to stop gun violence.
Thirteen years ago a mentally ill man went to an event for then Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. In moments, six people were dead and 13 wounded.
It seemed like a quiet Saturday morning when Sallie Badger’s phone rang.
“I got a call from my husband immediately after the shooting after the paramedics and emergency crews arrived. And he said, Sallie, I'm shot. I'm shot. I'm okay. I took the guy down. Come here right away.”
Sallie Badger’s husband, retired Army Colonel Bill Badger was wounded but still teamed up with another man to tackle the gunman. Colonel Badger died a few years later. That tackle gave Pat Maisch a chance to grab the gunman’s ammunition before he could reload.
Maisch says, “The gun organizations say the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. That is a lie. And it was Bill Badger and Roger Salzgeber, two good guys without guns that had the courage to tackle that young man.”
Nancy Bowman is a nurse. She rushed to give first aid to the shooting victims that day. On this day she walked the Memorial remembering each of the six people killed and thirteen wounded.
“You think, Well, why was I not one of the people that was shot? Why was a nine year old girl in front of a bullet and not me. So I feel like I need to honor everyone that was there by taking some action.”
The gunman attacked an event by then Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. She was injured so badly she retired from Congress. Former senior aide Ron Barber nearly died from his wounds but recovered and won election to fill Giffords vacant seat.
Like many of the survivors he works for stronger gun laws and says there’s been some progress with state governments, but not with Congress.
“And we have an opportunity this year to look at candidates at the local, federal level and decide based upon what they say about what they're gonna do about gun violence in America decide to vote accordingly.”
It’s been hard for Gabrielle Giffords to say much since she was shot but she came to the remembrance and had something to say about gun violence on this day.
“Fight, fight, fight everyday.”
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Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
