US President Barack Obama has made a poignant visit to wounded congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in hospital, four days after she was gunned down in an assassination attempt.
Obama spent time with Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly, a US space shuttle astronaut, at the University Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona, before heading to a memorial service to pay tribute to those killed and wounded in the attack.
"The president wanted to begin this solemn trip by stopping first at the hospital where congresswoman Giffords and others continue to recover," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.
Giffords is lying gravely ill after brain surgery after taking a bullet to the head in Saturday's attack.
Obama talked to some of the medical staff treating Giffords and the 13 others wounded in the attack, meeting the families of some of the six who died.
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Some 14,000 people were crammed into an indoor sports arena for the service, amid tight security, and an overflow crowd was gathering in a nearby football stadium, university officials said.
Jared Loughner, 22, is in custody after Saturday's shooting at Tucson supermarket, facing five charges including murder and attempted murder.
