The Hill News

A somber President Obama said on Saturday evening that he'd dispatched FBI Director Robert Mueller to Tuscon to help lead an investigation into the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.).

"We are still assembling all the facts, but we know that Rep. Giffords was one of the victims," the president said in an on-camera statement. "She is currently at a hospital in the area, and she is battling for her life."

The suspected shooter is in custody, but the president noted, "we don't know yet what provoked this unspeakable act."

The president said he'd been in contact with Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress to discuss the shooting, and expressed condolences for five other deceased victims in the shooting, including a federal judge and a young child. 

"What Americans do at times of tragedy is to come together and support each other," Obama said, asking for Americans' prayers for the victims of the shooting. "I am hopeful that she's going! to pull through."

Michael O'Brien contributed to this report