Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords spoke to a group of hikers and community members in front of an image of a smiling, bearded young man who was killed 15 years ago in a mass shooting that almost took Giffords’ life.
The man, Gabe Zimmerman, was one of the six people killed when a lone gunman opened fire at a group waiting to speak to Giffords. She was one of 13 people injured that day. In memory of Zimmerman, a permanent memorial was erected at the start of a trail called the Gabe Zimmerman Davidson Canyon Trailhead.
Giffords and her husband, U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona, spoke to the hiking group on Jan. 10, two days after the 15th anniversary of the shooting. Zimmerman had worked as Giffords’ outreach and constituent services director…