US congresswoman returning to city where she was shot

US Representative Gabrielle Giffords is returning home to the Arizona city of Tucson for the weekend for the first time since she left the state for treatment after being shot in the head in January, her office said.

The Democratic congresswoman, who was discharged on Wednesday from a Houston hospital, will not make any public appearances or grant interviews during the visit, and instead plans to see family, her office said.

"We've been dreaming of this trip for some time," Giffords' husband, Mark Kelly, said in a statement.

"Gabby misses Tucson very much and her doctors have said that returning to her hometown could play an important role in her recovery. It is sure to be very emotional," he said.

Giffords was shot in the head at close range by a gunman who opened fire at her and a crowd of bystanders at a political event on Jan. 8 outside a supermarket in Tucson. Twelve other people were wounded, and six were killed, including a federal judge, a young girl and a Giffords aide.

Jared Loughner, a 22-year-old college dropout charged with the shooting, was declared mentally incompetent to stand trial and sent to a Missouri hospital for federal prisoners last month.

Earlier this week, the first photographs of Giffords since the shooting were posted on her Facebook page.