(Updates with hospital official, NPR report, adds details)
TUCSON, Ariz., Jan 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot point blank in the head by a man who opened fire indiscriminately at a constituency meeting in Tucson, U.S. media reported on Saturday.
Giffords, a 40-year-old Democrat in her third term in Congress, was airlifted to a hospital in Tucson shortly after the shooting at a Safeway supermarket in the Arizona city.
"She is currently in surgery. She's alive," University Medical Center spokeswoman Darci Slaten told Reuters. Slaten added that nine other shooting victims were being treated at the hospital.
NPR, citing the sheriff's office in Pima County, Arizona, initially reported that Giffords and six others had died in the shooting, though it later said there were conflicting reports.
Fox News reported that between 12 and 15 people were shot.
Giffords was hosting a "Congress on Your Corner" event -- public gatherings to give her constituents a chance to talk directly with her -- when attacked from about four feet (1.2 meters) away, NPR said.
The report said the suspect tried to run away but was tackled by a bystander and was in police custody.
Re-elected in the Nov. 2 election, Giffords has focused on immigration reform, military issues, stem cell research and alternative energy while serving in Congress. She is married to U.S. astronaut Mark Kelly.
(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Writing by Paul Simao, Editing by Anthony Boadle)
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