1st funeral held in Tucson shootings

An overflow crowd filled a church in Tucson, Ariz., on Thursday for the funeral of a nine-year-old girl killed in a shooting rampage last weekend.

Christina Taylor Green had gone with a family friend to a meet-and-greet that Gabrielle Giffords, the local member of Congress, was holding at a Tucson grocery store when the shooting took place.

A gunmen shot 19 people — killing six. Giffords, who was shot in the head, is recovering from the attack.

Christina, a Grade 3 student, went to the event Saturday because she had recently been elected to her student council and was interested in government.

At her funeral, Christina received a special honour from firefighters to acknowledge the traumatic day she was born, Sept. 11, 2001.

A U.S. flag recovered from the site where the towers fell at the World Trade Center in New York City was hoisted by two ladder trucks to form an arch at the Roman Catholic church where the service is being held.

The girl's father, John Green, a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers, was expected to speak during the funeral mass. Television cameras were not allowed inside the church.

Showing more signs

Earlier Thursday, doctors in Tucson said Giffords is showing more signs of progress in her recovery.

In fact, medical staff hope to get Giffords into a chair by week's end.

Neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Lemole of the University Medical Center confirmed Giffords is already opening her eyes and looking around.

"She's starting to become aware of her surroundings," he said.

Speaking at a memorial service in Tucson on Wednesday, U.S. President Barack Obama broke the news that Giffords had opened her eyes earlier in the day.

Lemole said Giffords opened her left eye when her family and some friends from Congress were in her hospital room. She is beginning to try to track things in the room, Lemole said, comparing this to a person waking in the morning and trying to focus.

Lemole said doctors have also begun to get Giffords up in bed and dangling her legs over the edge. He said she is able to move both legs.

Giffords's medical team seemed to marvel at her progress since suffering a head injury that is often fatal.

"We're wise to acknowledge miracles," Lemole  said.

Dr. Peter Rhee, the head of the hospital's trauma unit, said the next major hurdle will be the removal of Giffords's breathing tube. She does not need the tube to breathe, but doctors have left it in to protect her airway. Rhee said doctors will decide within days whether to take it out, adding they are optimistic they will be able to remove it.

By Friday, Rhee said, medical staff also hope to get Giffords sitting in a chair.