US president Barack Obama has appealed for unity at a memorial service for those attacked in the Arizona shooting rampage and implored a divided America to honour them by becoming a better country.
Mr Obama electrified the crowd by revealing that following a hospital visit with Representative Gabrielle Giffords, she had opened her eyes for the first time since being shot in the head in the assassination attempt. First Lady Michelle Obama held hands with Ms Giffords' husband, Mark Kelly, as the news brought a cascade of cheers.
While some have blamed America's overheated political climate and the use of violent imagery in campaigns, Mr Obama conceded that there is no way to know what set off Saturday's shooting rampage that left six people dead, 13 others wounded and the nation shaken. He tried instead to leave indelible memories of the people killed and to rally the country to use the moment as a reflection on America's behaviour and compassion.
"I believe we can be better," Mr Obama said to a capacity crowd at the University of Arizona basketball arena. "Those who died here, those who saved lives here - they help me believe. We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another is entirely up to us."
Mr Obama said Ms Giffords, known as Gabby, opened her eyes a few minutes after he left her intensive care hospital room at Tucson's University Medical Centre, where some of her colleagues in Congress remained.
"Gabby opened her eyes, so I can tell you: She knows we are here, she knows we love her, and she knows that we are rooting for her through what is undoubtedly going to be a difficult journey," he said. Ms Giffords is expected to survive, although her condition and the extent of her recovery remain in doubt.
As finger-pointing emerged in Washington and beyond over whether harsh political rhetoric played a role in motivating the attack, Mr Obama sought to calm the rhetoric and said: "The forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us."
Mr Obama's appeal for unity played out against a deepening political debate. Earlier, Republican Sarah Palin, criticised for marking Ms Giffords' district and others with the cross-hairs of a gun sight during last autumn's campaign, had taken to Facebook to accuse pundits and journalists of using the attack to incite hatred and violence.
Memories of the six people killed dominated much of Mr Obama's speech. The president, for example, recalled how federal Judge John Roll was on his way from attending Mass when he stopped to say hello to Ms Giffords and was gunned down; Dorothy Morris, shielded by her husband, but killed nonetheless; and Phyllis Schneck, a Republican who liked Ms Giffords, a Democrat, and wanted to know her better.
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He spoke at length of nine-year-old Christina Taylor Green, the only girl on her baseball team, who often said she wanted to be the first woman to play in the major leagues. She had just been elected to the student council at her elementary school and had an emerging interest in public service.
