TUCSON, Ariz. — Susan Hileman was holding hands with her 9-year-old neighbor Christina Taylor Green, waiting to meet U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, when gunshots rang out.
Since then, Bill Hileman said he hears his wife scream, "Christina, Christina. Let's get out of here. Let's get out of here." Susan Hileman was shot three times but is expected to survive.
Her husband had to tell her Saturday evening that Christina died at the hospital.
"She's a tough strong woman and a survivor," Hileman said of his wife Tuesday at a news conference.
Susan Hileman took the third-grader to Giffords' meet-and-greet Saturday because of the girl's longtime interest in politics. Even at her young age, she was an aspiring politician.
A funeral is planned Thursday for Christina, who was born on Sept. 11, 2001.
Six people were killed and six are still hospitalized out of 14 injured in the Saturday attack.
Penny Wilson and Angela Robinson, stepdaughters of 76-year-old Dorwin Stoddard, recounted how he shielded his wife Mavy from a hail of bullets.
"He saved her life. She did feel that way. He heard the shots and covered my mom with his own body," Wilson said.
The couple were sixth-grade sweethearts and married 15 years ago after their respective spouses died.