2011 was a turbulent year for the country after the attempted assassination of Gabrielle Giffords, a congresswoman, was shot dead by a gunman outside a Tucson supermarket. CNN. Giffords Survived the bullet wound to the headSix people were injured, including Sophia Bush’s 9-year old cousin Christina Taylor Green. This was also the youngest victim of this attack. The New York Times.
Green’s parents shared their sadness at not being able to watch their daughter grow up. “One day we were a beautiful family of four, and the next day, we woke up, and we had three — with no real preparation, no warning, no nothing,”John, her father, told her AZCentral. “It jars every part of your life.”Her family had planned to build a memorial garden in her memory. Bush was not yet able to meet her cousin, but she was deeply touched by the loss. “I remember hearing when she was born … We had always planned on going to visit them and see her because I hadn’t seen them since her mother’s wedding, and now we can’t,”She said: “Chelsea Lately” (via CBS News). “And you’ve gotta take every day and you’ve gotta tell the people you love that you do.”In 2017, she revealed on InstagramShe was still disturbed by Green’s murder and furious.
Jared Lee Loughner was remanded in custody and Green’s killer chillingly smiled for his mugshot as well as in court. ABC News. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in 2012. NPR.