Gabrielle Giffords Targeted in Arizona Exclusive Photos and Videos .

Breaking News A federal judge was killed and a congresswoman gravely wounded Saturday in a shooting away of a Tucson, Arizona, grocery store, according to law and government officials. In all, six people died and 12 were maimed in the shooting, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Arizona, according to Rick Kastigar, bureau chief for the Pima County Sheriff`s Department.

President Barack Obama later said Chief Justice John Curl of the U.S. District Court for Arizona was among the dead.A 9-year-old girl also died in the attack, according to authorities. The child, whose identity had not been released, was pronounced dead at a hospital. An Arizona law enforcement source and a federal law enforcement source identified the defendant as Jared Lee Loughner. Other law enforcement sources put his age at 22. U.S. Capitol Police said the defendant was in custody. Police recovered a 9mm Glock handgun, according to elder law enforcement sources. Dr. Peter Rhee of University Medical Center in Tucson, said Giffords, 40, had undergone surgery for a single gunshot to the mind that passed through her brain. Giffords was among five patients listed in critical condition, Rhee said. At least two victims with gunshot wounds were transported to another hospital, Northwest Medical Center, according to spokesman Richard Parker. Kastigar declined to comment on a possible motivation for the attack. Police have set a news conference to discuss developments in the cause for 6 p.m. (8 p.m. ET). Tucson police Chief Roberto Villasenor said his department had secured the homes and offices of some unnamed federal officials as a "precautionary measure." Although U.S. Capitol Police said there was no show of a broader threat involving federal officials, the bureau said it had advised other members of Congress to make "reasonable and prudent precautions regarding their personal safety and security," the means said in a statement. Obama said he had directed FBI Director Robert Muller to move to Arizona to bear the investigation. An FBI spokesman said the way was sending agents to the scene, Rhee, in a brief news conference at the hospital, said that Giffords had been stirred to intensive care from surgery and said he was "very optimistic" about her recovery. "I`m almost as optimistic as it can get in this situation," he said. He said the following 24 hours will be key for deciding the extent of her recovery. Giffords, a Democrat, was first elected in 2006. She has served as president of the House Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee and also holds seats on the Home Science and Engineering and Armed Services committees. She won her third terminus in a closely contested race against a Tea Party-sponsored candidate and was one of three Democratic legislators who reported vandalism at their offices following the March vote on health care reform. She is married to Navy Capt. Mark Kelly, a Nasa astronaut who is scheduled to take a space shuttle mission to the International Space Station. Roll was a 1991 Bush appointee to the federal bench. The primary justice on the U.S. District Court for Arizona, he was originally from Pennsylvania. Giffords` colleagues in Congress reacted quickly to the shooting. Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, said the attempt was attached by a "wicked person who has no smell of judge or compassion." "Whoever did this, whatever their reason, they are a shame to Arizona, this state and the human race, and they deserve and will receive the scorn of all decent people and the strongest punishment of the law," he said.