Girl Killed in Arizona Shooting Spree Was Born on 9/11, Loved Being Symbol of Nation's Hope
Christina-Taylor Green was excited to attend Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' event.
Jan. 10, 2011 — -- Christina-Taylor Green, 9, was excited about going to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' informal town hall event this weekend. She started becoming interested in politics during the last presidential campaign.
"She had all kinds of patriotic little pins and what not and then she was on her way to being very political and very interested in government ...," her mother, Roxanna Green, said.
Christina-Taylor was a straight-A student. The "9/11 baby" sang on the church choir and was best friends with her older brother.
She had just been elected class president at Mesa Verde Elementary School and had planned to start a club at her school to help less fortunate classmates. It was that civic-mindedness that led her to a Safeway supermarket in Tucson Saturday morning.
Christina-Taylor "talked about getting all the parties to come together so we could live in a better country," her mother said Sunday. "She was going to Giffords' event to ask questions about how she could help and to learn more about politics in our country."
Her promise of a bright future in public service was snuffed out when she and five other people were shot and killed by a man who police say went to the venue to kill Giffords, 40. The congresswoman remains in serious condition after being shot in the head. Fourteen other people were wounded.
Among the dead are a federal judge and a Giffords aide. Christina-Taylor was shot once in the chest.
The alleged shooter, 22-year-old Jared Loughner, has been charged with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder.
Born in Tragedy
"It's very ironic, and it says something about society when she comes in to the world on 9/11 and at 9 years old she leaves it this terrible day, but we wouldn't take back any of the nine years we had with her," her father, John Green, said.
Said her mother: "She had a great morning, she got up early ... and was talking about the event, and how excited she was. She was very mature for her age."
Christina-Taylor liked to sing and dance, and loved sports. She was the only girl on her Little League team, which wasn't surprising, considering that baseball is the family business.
'The Bobcat'
Her father works for the Los Angeles Dodgers and her grandfather, Dallas Green, managed the Philadelphia Phillies. He led them to the World Series in 1980.
Christina-Taylor was a tireless debater, and very strong-willed.
"She was tenacious ... We nicknamed her the bobcat," her father said in an interview with "Good Morning America" anchor George Stephanopoulos. "She'd give a little snarl when she didn't like something."
Her parents described their daughter as a selfless girl.
"She was vibrant, she truly just wanted to be helpful in the community and help others and just get involved," her mother said. "She always wanted to get involved."
Indeed, shortly before she was killed, she had cleaned out her room.
"She put all these toys and clothes and shoes in various bags and she couldn't wait to go give them away to someone who was less fortunate ... she was strong, she was brave, she was fearless, but she also had a kind heart and she was sweet," her mother said.
The kind-hearted girl was very close to her 11-year-old brother, Dallas.
Dallas was supposed to have attended the congresswoman's event Saturday, but he had karate practice.
Dallas has Asperger's syndrome, and his sister took care of him in her spare time.
"He's doing pretty good right now, but I worry about, I worry about him as he realizes it's more permanent," he said, speaking of his son's reaction to Christina-Taylor's death.
Mom: 'She Got Robbed'
Despite the pain of losing her, John Green said he wouldn't take back any of the time he had with his daughter.
She was born on 9/11, and was featured in a book about children born on that date. It was called "Faces of Hope."
She held that message close to her heart, and was proud to have been a 9/11 baby, her mother said. She loved wearing red, white and blue, loved the Fourth of July and thought of 9/11 as a special holiday.
"She was proud of that, she was proud of being one of the faces of hope, because she didn't really look at 9/11 as a tragedy like the rest of us did, she looked at it as an opportunity for change, for hope ...," Roxanna Green said.
"She was an amazing little girl and she got robbed of all the wonderful things that she could have done," her mother added. "Not only for her family and friends and her community, but for her country. We don't know what she would have gone on to do."
Her father has advice for others:
"I think the one thing I learned from this is keep your friends and family close because I don't think we could get through this without everybody's support, and I think maybe this fellow who did all the shooting, maybe if he had a little more of that, this wouldn't have happened."