US congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head by a gunman in Arizona, is responding well to treatment and can follow simple commands after surgery, doctors say. They said it "was still very early" but they were "cautiously optimistic". Ms Giffords, 40, was injured and six other people killed in a shooting at a public meeting at a Tucson supermarket. A 22-year-old man has been arrested and police are hunting for a second man in connection with the shooting. Surgeons at the Arizona University Medical Center said Ms Giffords was still in a critical condition but they were optimistic, especially since the bullet that hit her had not crossed both hemispheres of the brain. They said their surgery had initially controlled the bleeding, then taken the pressure off the brain. Transfusions had worked well, they said, and after the surgery Ms Giffords could respond to simple commands. In their press conference, the surgeons said they had treated 11 other patients in the wake of the shooting, of which one - nine-year-old Christina-Taylor Green - they were unable to resuscitate. Five patients remain in serious condition and one has been discharged. Six surgeries were performed. Dr Peter Rhee, medical director of the hospital's trauma and critical care unit, said: "I never thought I would experience something like this in my own back yard. It's a very trying period for all of us."
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Shot US congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords 'doing well'
The shooting in Arizona has shocked US politicians and the publicMore on This Story
GIFFORDS SHOT
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9 January 2011 Last updated at 17:38
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