President, Federal Officials To Attend Tucson Memorial

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, as well as a handful of federal officials, will attend a memorial service in Arizona for the victims of Saturday’s shooting in Tucson.

The event, entitled “Together We Thrive: Tucson and America” will be held at the University of Tucson.
Attorney General Eric Holder and and Justice Anthony Kennedy will be in attendance, as will as Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, who served as Arizona’s Governor before joining the Obama administration.

The White House’s presence at the event follows several other gestures from the administration, including a moment of silence held on Monday and an order to fly all flags at half-mast until sundown Friday.

On Saturday, a gunman opened fire at a congressional meet-and-greet outside of a Tucson-based grocery store, leaving Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) in critical condition and six dead, including a Federal Judge, a Giffords’ staffer and a nine year old girl.