TUCSON — In the weeks and days before the Jan. 8 shooting rampage in Tucson, suspect Jared Lee Loughner surfed the Internet in an effort to prepare for his assassination attempt on a congresswoman, law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation said.
Loughner pulled up several websites about lethal injections and solitary confinement in prison, said the sources, who asked to be anonymous because the investigation is ongoing. He also viewed Internet sites about political assassins, according to an analysis of Loughner’s computer that was completed by investigators last week, the sources said.
Police seized Loughner’s computer after forcibly entering his family home in Tucson shortly after the shooting outside a Safeway that killed six and injured 13 others, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. He has entered a not-guilty plea in connection with federal charges.
Motel used as staging ground
On the night before the shooting, Loughner stayed at a Motel 6 near the railroad tracks on the western edge of Tucson. Using the room as a staging ground for a series of predawn errands, Loughner drove back and forth several times between the motel and his home, where he used his computer for the last time, sources said. At one point early in the morning, he posted a bulletin on his MySpace page titled “Goodbye friends,” according to investigators.
Prosecutors hope to use the information found on his computer, along with notes seized in his home, to indicate that Loughner, 22, was not insane and knew right from wrong. They have turned over to the defense the information they obtained from the computer, as well as discs containing about 250 interviews conducted by investigators.
Final funeral service held
Also Wednesday, the last funeral was held for those who died in the shooting, that of Dorothy Morris, a retiree. Morris’ husband, George, was wounded in the attack.
Meanwhile, in Houston, Giffords was moved from an intensive-care unit to a rehabilitation hospital and began an aggressive course of physical therapy. Her doctors said that the transfer went seamlessly and that the congresswoman had begun working with therapists. They said she was alert and appeared to understand what was being said to her.
“Since Gabby arrived last week, we have witnessed daily improvements in her neurological function,” said Dr. Dong Kim, the head of the Mischer Neuroscience Institute at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center. “This is really at lightning speed.”
The New York Times contributed to this report.
