Cab Driver Not A Suspect in Arizona Shooting
'Person of interest' drove suspect Jared Loughner to Giffords event.
Jan. 9, 2011— -- The person of interest sought for questioning in the shooting of Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is a cab driver who says he drove suspect Jared Lee Loughner to the site, according to the Pima County Sheriff's Department. The driver has been interviewed and is not a suspect in the shooting.
Authorities released a photo of a middle-aged white male possibly connected with the suspect in Saturday's mass shooting that killed six people, wounded 14 others and left an Arizona congresswoman in critical condition at a town hall event in Tucson, Ariz.
Chief Richard Kastigar of the Pima County Sheriff's Department said the man drove Loughner to a Safeway grocery store next to where Giffords was holding a public event, and then followed Loughner inside to get change to pay his fare. Kastigar said the driver is not a suspect in the shooting and has not been charged.
In a statement, the FBI said that "the person originally identified ... as a person of interest has been located, interviewed and cleared of any involvement in this ongoing investigation." The FBI said no additional person of interest is being interviewed.
At a press conference in Tucson Sunday, FBI Director Robert Mueller said the individual was being sought for questioning because he was seen entering a grocery store near the event with Loughner, who has been arrested for the shooting of Rep. Giffords and 19 others, but authorities did not believe that the individual was also a shooter.
"We pushed out a photograph of an individual that appeared to be entering the Safeway with the subject," said Mueller, "and we are hoping to identify that individual."
"We do not have a belief at this time that the individual was a participant in the shooting," said Mueller. "We do want to identify him and see what he may have seen."
The person was described as a white male about 40 to 50 years old with dark hair. He was last seen wearing blue jeans and a dark blue jacket, Pima County Sheriff's Department officials said in a news release.
Earlier Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik had said the individual being sought might be involved in Saturday's shooting. "We are not convinced that [the gunman in custody] acted alone, there is some reason to believe he came to this location with another individual, and that individual is involved," said Sheriff Dupnik.
At the Sunday press conference, however, Dupnik said, "It would appear to us that the person may not have been involved at all."
ABC News' Devin Dwyer, Kevin Dolak, Dean Schabner and Emily Friedman contributed to this report.
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