Security was tight Friday in Tucson, Ariz., at the funeral of U.S. District Judge John Roll, who served almost 40 years before he was shot and killed last weekend, along with five others, during the attempted assassination U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

An hour before the funeral, a lot of cars lined up for almost a mile, waiting to enter church grounds, but there were a dozen mourners outside the church and a strong showing of patrol cars and SWAT officers in all-green uniforms on the streets around the church. U.S. marshals checked the IDs of those entering the parking lot. Also, four big coach buses brought dozens of judges who knew Roll over the years, and still, many who came did not get in.

The alleged shooter Jared Loughner, 22, was targeting Giffords, who was wounded along with 12 others.

At a press conference Friday, Dr. Michael Lemole, the neurosurgeon treating Giffords, said that Giffords has been getting better remarkably, given the severity of her wound.

About The Author

Eiko Watanabe is a Blast staff writer in New York

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