The main suspect in a shooting spree that killed six people and wounded a congresswoman in Arizona has been charged with five criminal counts, including attempted murder.
The 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner, who is accused of shooting Arizona lawmaker Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson on Saturday, faces one count of attempted murder; two counts of killing an officer and two counts of attempted killing of an officer of the US, Reuters reported on Sunday.
Six people, including a nine-year-old child and a senior US district judge were killed and 18 others were wounded in the incident, which took place outside a grocery store in Tucson.
Loughner is "suspected of shooting US Representative Gabrielle Giffords, Chief Judge John Roll, Giffords' staff member Gabriel Zimmerman and approximately 16 others Saturday in Tucson," US district attorney for Arizona Dennis K. Burke said.
Burke further noted that the culprit will make an initial appearance in court in Phoenix on Monday. The court appearance will set dates for a preliminary hearing and a detention hearing.
According to the US Justice Department, the charges against the suspected murderer were filed in US federal court on Sunday.
Giffords, 40, was re-elected to her third term last November. Her Tucson office had been vandalized in March a few hours after the House approved the new healthcare law.
US President Barack Obama in a statement called the attack an "unspeakable tragedy," saying that "while we are continuing to receive information, we know that some have passed away, and that Representative Giffords is gravely wounded."
Meanwhile, medics said on Sunday that the US lawmaker remains in critical condition but shows positive signs.
Giffords was in a medically-induced coma, but could respond to basic verbal commands, said doctors at the University of Arizona Medical Center.
The doctors also spoke optimistically about her chances of survival, PressTV reported.