Arizona shooter studied assassins on internet before attack

NEW YORK - The 22-year-old man, accused of shooting US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffordsm, studied about several assassins and legal consequences on internet before opening fire at a supermarket in Arizona, an official has said.

Jared L. Loughner, who pleaded not guilty Monday to three counts of attempted murder in connection with shooting at a Tucson supermarket, researched famous assassins, death penalty and solitary confinement on internet, the New York Times reported quoting an official close to the investigation.

The Jan 8 shooting left six people dead and 13 injured. Giffords, Democrat representative from Arizona, was shot in the head but survived. Additional charges, including murder, are expected.

Loughner checked himself into a hotel on the evening before the attacks and was on his computer until the wee hours, authorities said. An analysis of his website searches showed that he was busy researching hours before the shooting, which took place shortly after 10 a.m., an official said.

“He was looking at websites related to lethal injection and websites about famous assassinations,” the official was quoted as saying.

The official did not say which assassins Loughner looked up. The websites were found by searching the browser history of his computer. A more detailed forensic analysis of his computer is continuing, officials said.

The prosecution gave Loughner’s lawyer, Judy Clarke, computer records and witness interviews in the federal district court Monday. Neither the US attorney’s office nor Clarke would comment on whether the computer searches were included in that information.