Tucson - US Representative Gabrielle Giffords on Friday left the Arizona hospital where she had remained since being shot in the head on January 8 and began her trip to a Texas medical facility to continue her recovery.
A crowd of about 80 well-wishers gathered on a street corner near the entrance to Tucson's University Medical Centre, one holding a “Giffords for Congress” campaign sign and another holding an American flag.
The congresswoman, 40, was discharged from the hospital shortly after 9 am local time and was taken by ambulance at the head of a motorcade through town en route to an Air Force base.
From there she will be flown to Houston, where she will be admitted to TIRR Memorial Hermann Institute for Rehabilitation and Research, which specializes in the treatment of brain and spinal cord injuries.
Giffords suffered a gunshot wound to the head at point-blank range, but doctors have described her progress as nothing short of a miracle.
A federal grand jury indicted Jared Lee Loughner on Wednesday on charges of attempting to assassinate Giffords and other counts.
Loughner, 22, is accused of opening fire on Giffords and a crowd of bystanders outside a grocery store, killing six people, including a federal judge, and wounding 13 others. He is expected to face additional federal and state charges.
Authorities have said Giffords was the gunman's primary target.
The shootings sparked a national debate about whether vitriolic political discourse was encouraging violence against politicians and whether stricter gun-control measures should be adopted in the United States. - Reuters