Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has just announced plans to step down from Congress.

Giffords was the “victim of a gunshot wound to the head in an attack a year ago in her Arizona district.” She said her work toward recovery was her reason for stepping down.

Prior to the shooting Gabrielle Giffords “had been considered a rising Democratic star, and had been considering a bid for Senate this fall.” She has been absent from Capitol Hill over the course of her recovery, except for a very moving surprise return in August to vote on an agreement in the House, to raise the nation’s debt ceiling.

Watch her moving announcement here:

Click here to view the embedded video.

UPDATE (2:32 pm): I first caught the breaking news on Twitter and them MSNBC. Since I first posted this, Gabby Giffords has already become a Trend on Twitter.