Tucson shootings: Who are the victims?

Six people were killed and 14 people were injured, including the Democratic congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, when a gunman targeted the politician at an Arizona supermarket.

The dead include Arizona's chief federal judge, a child of nine and three retired people.

Judge John Roll (aged 63)

The authorities do not believe Judge Roll was a target of Saturday's attack

Father-of-three John Roll was a respected judge who was appointed to the US District Court for Arizona by President George Bush Senior in 1991. Friends described him as a devoted, talented and gentle man.

The authorities do not believe he was a target of Saturday's attack but had gone to see Ms Giffords at her constituency event, having recently worked with her on court issues.

He reportedly received many death threats in 2009 when he allowed a $32m (£21m) lawsuit filed by illegal immigrants against an Arizona rancher to proceed. More than 200 threatening phone calls were made to his office on one day. Officials at the time said many of the threats were stirred up by right-wing talk-back radio. He received police protection for a month as a result.

Chief US Justice John Roberts issued a statement after the shootings, praising Mr Roll for his service and describing his killing as a "terrible loss". Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said of him: "I have never met a more sincere... fair-minded, brilliant federal judge - or any judge for that matter - in my whole life."

Dorwin Stoddard (76)

Mr Stoddard shielded his wife from the gunman's fire

Retired Dorwin Stoddard, a church volunteer, was shot and killed as he tried to protect his wife Mavy, who was injured but is expected to survive, the Christian Chronicle reported.

Friends described the couple as "the lifeblood" of the 120-member Mountain Avenue Church of Christ in Tucson, Arizona.

It is unclear whether they went to the Safeway supermarket near their home in order to buy groceries or to see Ms Giffords. But witnesses reported that Mr and Mrs Stoddard had been queuing to meet the congresswoman when the gunman began shooting.

The couple were said to be high-school sweethearts who married later in life.

Witnesses said one of Mr Stoddard's final acts was to shield his wife from the gunman's fire. While he was fatally wounded, his wife suffered three gunshot wounds to her legs. After Mr Stoddard was fatally wounded, Mrs Stoddard talked to him for 10 minutes before he died.

Christina Taylor Green (9)

Christina Taylor Green's mother described her as a "very bright, amazing girl"

Christina Taylor Green, the youngest victim of the Tucson shootings, had just been elected to the student council at the nearby Mesa Verde Elementary School. She had been taken to Ms Giffords' public event because her family thought it would help her learn more about government.

She was born on 11 September 2001, the day of the al-Qaeda terror attacks against the US, and is featured in the book Faces of Hope: Babies Born on 9/11. She was also related to Dallas Green, a former pitcher, manager, and executive in Major League Baseball.

Her father, John Green, said President Barack Obama had inspired his daughter's interest in politics.

"President Obama and his campaign is where she started getting interested in politics, and at least to have heard him mention her makes me feel better.

"She began her life on a tragedy, on 9/11, and her life was ended with a tragedy, here in Arizona," he added.

Her mother, Roxana, said Christina had enjoyed swimming with her 11-year-old brother, and loved animals, singing, dancing, and gymnastics. She also played baseball, and had told her parents that she wanted to be the first woman to play major league baseball.

"She was all about helping people and getting involved," her mother Roxanna told the Arizona Daily Star.

Bill Badger, who subdued the gunman, said he noticed Christina before the carnage began, according to the Los Angeles Times. He said she had been standing behind Mrs Giffords, getting ready to meet the politician, and beaming.

Gabe Zimmerman (30)

Gabe Zimmerman was engaged to be married

Gabe Zimmerman was a former social worker who served as Ms Giffords' director of community outreach - helping her handle thousands of constituency matters - and was one of a core of loyal staffers who had been with the congresswoman since before her election in 2006.

Local media report that Mr Zimmerman, who was engaged to be married, had organised the constituency event where the shootings took place and was passionate about helping ordinary people, and representing Ms Giffords.

Michael McNulty, chairman of Ms Giffords' campaigns, was quoted by azcentral.com as saying, that Mr Zimmerman was "as close to a purely good human being as I've ever known. He worked tirelessly to solve people's problems".

Mr Zimmerman's mother, Emily Nottingham, said politics was a good fit for him. "He had a real interest in helping people and had a real caring for social justice," she said.

House Speaker John Boehner on Sunday said he had asked that the Capitol flag be flown at half-mast to mark "the service and the sacrifice" Mr Zimmerman gave Congress.

Dorothy Morris (76) and Phyllis Schneck (79)

It is unclear whether Dorothy Morris and Phyllis Schneck, both retired, had gone to Ms Giffords' event, but descriptions of the shootings suggest they were close by when the gunman began firing.

Dorothy Morris's husband also suffered gunshot wounds

Doctor Steven Rayle, who was at the scene, said it was "close quarters and people were pretty crammed in there, with no place to go, and he was able to target people pretty easily".

Dorothy Morris, known to her friends as Dot, was married to George, a former marine and retired airline pilot, who was taken to hospital after suffering two gunshot wounds.

According to one of their daughters, Mr Morris had thrown his wife to the ground and tried to shield her during the attack. They had been married for 50 years and had been childhood sweethearts.

Phyllis Schneck was a widow with two daughters and a son. According to the Arizona Daily Star, she was known for baking macaroni cheese and making quilts for charity, and she was a weekly volunteer worker at her church.

Phyllis Schneck was said to have been a kind-hearted woman with a sense of humour

"She would give people the shirt off her back," her 57-year-old daughter, Betty-Jean Offutt, said.

She was also said to have had a good sense of humour, collecting ceramic snails because of her surname, which translates as "snail" in German.

Her home in Tucson was only four miles from the supermarket, but Ms Offutt said her mother's appearance at the store was surprising because she usually shopped at a different store and was not very political.