Victim’s father to skip Loughner sentencing
Nov 8, 2012, 6:31 AM | Updated: 2:09 pm
The father of one of the Tucson shooting victims will not be present when the suspect is sentenced Thursday morning.
“I’ve got other things I got to do and what I tell people frequently … what does this have to do with Gabriel?” said Ross Zimmerman, whose son was killed in the shooting.
Jared Loughner pleaded guilty in August to 19 counts under a plea agreement that guarantees he will spend the rest of his life in prison and makes him ineligible for parole.
“This has nothing to do with Gabriel, it has to do with society dealing with the situation. My presence doesn’t have an impact, one way or another,” Zimmerman said of the shooter’s court appearance.
Zimmerman said he misses his son and believes Gabe is with him in spirit.
“I think about Gabe a lot. I would say I’ve learned how to cope with it better,” he said.
Zimmerman is redirecting his grief finding ways to honor the memories of all those affected by being part of the Remembering January 8th organization.
Six people were killed and over a dozen others wounded in the Jan. 8, 2011 attack at a grocery store.
