ABOUT THE SUSPECT – AT 10:53 A.M. ET:  In an example of fine, cautious reporting, experienced journalist Bruce Drake, at Politics Daily, gives some factual background on the suspect. 

Jared Loughner, the 22-year-old suspect accused of shooting Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in a rampage that killed six people and wounded more than a dozen others, had a history of troubling behavior that surfaced in rambling postings on his MySpace page, YouTube videos and classes he attended at Pima Community College in Tucson.

One of his videos prompted college officials to suspend him and tell his parents that he would have to get a mental health evaluation if he wanted to return to school, according to the New York Times. Loughner attended Pima from the summer of 2005 until October when he withdrew after his suspension.

Loughner tried to enlist in the Army in 2008 and took a physical. But First Sgt. Brian Homme, a Tucscon recruiter, told the Arizona Daily Star that he was rejected as unqualified. Citing confidentiality rules, the Army did not make public its reasons.

And...

Caitlin Parker, a former friend of Loughner, told ABC News that Loughner had once met Giffords.

"As I knew him more and more after high school, he got a little bit more odd," Parker said. "I mean, he was obsessed with the 2012 prophecy. I mean, he met Gabrielle Giffords once in '07 and told me he asked her some question that made absolutely no sense to me, but he said, 'I can't believe she doesn't understand it. Politicians just don't get it.'"

At college, Loughner "disrupted class frequently with nonsensical outbursts," according to Lynda Sorenson, who told the Daily Star she once took a math class with him.

COMMENT:  We may learn more later today, when the suspect appears in court.  It's encouraging to see that some reporters are sticking to facts.

January 9, 2011