ARIZONA

Sens. John McCain, Jeff Flake want memorial for 2011 Tucson shooting victims

Associated Press

JANUARY 2012: Matt McLear of Tucson looks at a memorial of flowers and crosses across the street from Safeway near Tucson where Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot.

PHOENIX - U.S. Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake have asked the Interior Department to support the establishment of a permanent memorial for the victims of the 2011 shootings in Tucson.

The two Republican senators from Arizona sent a letter Wednesday to Department of Interior Secretary Sally Jewell.

They say a permanent memorial also would convey the Tucson community’s spirit of solidarity in the face of the horrific event.

Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was among 19 people shot by a gunman during a constituent meeting in a supermarket parking lot on Jan. 8, 2011.

Six people died including a federal judge, a 9-year-old girl and one of Giffords’ staffers.

Giffords was critically wounded after being shot in the head and had to leave office.

The gunman is serving a life prison sentence.