TUCSON, Ariz.—Church services, memorials, candlelight vigils, and impromptu prayer groups have been popping up all over Tucson as residents seek out one another’s comfort and company in the wake of a mass shooting Saturday that left six people dead and 14 wounded, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who remains in intensive care. But for four area churches, whose members were among the victims, those gatherings have served as an outlet to remember and mourn the loss of their own.
Had U.S. District Judge John M. Roll not been following his daily habit of attending Mass at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in North Tucson, it is unlikely he would have lost his life at the hands of alleged shooter, 22-year-old Jared Loughner, who so far has been charged with one count of attempted assassination of a member of Congress, two counts of killing an employee of the federal government, and two counts of attempting to kill a federal employee.
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