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TUCSON, Arizona | Sun Jan 16, 2011 7:10am EST

TUCSON, Arizona (Reuters) - A victim of last week's Arizona shooting rampage was arrested on Saturday and ordered to undergo a mental evaluation after threatening a Tea Party leader during the taping of a television show, police said.

James Eric Fuller, 63, who was shot in the knee on January 8, objected to comments from Trent Humphries, leader of the conservative Tea Party political movement in Tucson, during taping of a town hall meeting organized for an ABC News special program on the aftermath of the shootings.

Fuller stood, turned and snapped a picture of Humphries, said Pima County Sheriff's Department spokesman Jason Ogan.

"Then he yelled at him and said, 'You're dead,'" Ogan said.

Deputies arrested Fuller on charges of disorderly conduct and making a threat.

After consultation with a doctor, deputies then took Fuller to a local hospital for an involuntary evaluation, Ogan said.

The charges will be filed with the Pima County Attorney's Office, he said.

Fuller was one of 13 people injured when a gunman opened fire during a gathering of constituents of U.S. congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Six people died, including a federal judge and a 9-year-old girl, and the Democratic congresswoman remains in critical condition in a Tucson hospital.

A 22-year-old college dropout, Jared Lee Loughner, was arrested for the shootings. He is charged with five federal counts, including the murder of a federal judge and the attempted assassination of Giffords.

The rampage sparked a national debate about whether the vitriolic tone of partisan politics in the United States in recent years had contributed to the suspect's motivations.

(Reporting by Brad Poole; Editing by Peter Bohan and Eric Beech)
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Comments (22)
Hypatian wrote:
It would be good to know what exactly Mr. Humpries said that so enraged Mr. Fuller. Without knowing that, it’s a bit difficult to know what to make of this story.

Jan 16, 2011 8:23am EST  --  Report as abuse
kreg999 wrote:
What in the world did anyone expect to happen when they put a victim of this massacre face to face with a person who advocates this violence to “take back our government”. The Tea Bag leader was lucky a camera was all that he was shot with. Obviously the media set this up to get this kind of hyped up reaction from Mr.Fuller and they should be ashamed. The Tucson police went to far arresting this man. In my eyes he acted as any reasonable person confronting a person who with their words and the rest of the Tea party characters convinced this unstable man that killing to solve a problem was a viable alternative.

Jan 16, 2011 8:47am EST  --  Report as abuse
Busterboy wrote:
After a person is involuntary committed their 2nd Amendment rights are Gone with the Wind! It doesn’t matter that the person is found to be normal (sane). Once you have been committed that’s it; No More Guns for you! And Good luck with getting a job. Even the ones who are found to be mentally ill; once they are treated and cured of their problem, it doesn’t matter, their gun rights will never be restored. Their reputation will never be restored.

That’s Called Stigma! The Stigma of Mental Illness is the Biggest Reason the Average Person Refuses to Seek Help No Matter How Badly They May Need it.

Every human being on this planet is mentally ill. No one is perfect, but even though everyone is mentally ill, very, very few of us are insane and of the ones who are insane, only a very small minority of them are violent. The violent ones are usually abusing drugs, so their violence can be attributed to the drugs, not the mental illness.

Being afraid of such things as; Spiders, Snakes, Flying in airplanes, all of theses things are phobias and Phobias are considered to be mental illness. Do you drink, smoke, or do drugs? That’s a Substance Abuse Disorder. Do you have a bad temper? That’s called temper dis-regulation disorder. Are you Shy, not satisfied with your appearance, arrogant, angry? The Bible of psychiatry, list them all and many, many more.

Stigma is our problem! Not Guns! If we Stop Punishing people for being mentally ill, then the people who need help will be more inclined to get help.

Jan 16, 2011 8:49am EST  --  Report as abuse
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