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Eight days after being shot in the head at point blank range, U.S. Rep Gabrielle Giffords was upgraded from critical to serious condition.

Gifford has been taken off a ventilator and is breathing on her own now by using a tracheotomy tube. Additionally, the Arizona Democrat underwent a procedure on Saturday to enable her to eat via a feeding tube.

The Tucson shooting, which was during an event called “Congress on Your Corner,” resulted in 19 people shot – 13 were wounded and six people died.

Jared Lee Loughner, the 22-year-old suspect, is currently in police custody.