All-star benefit concert to aid Tucson victims

An all-star lineup of Jackson Browne, Alice Cooper, David Crosby and Graham Nash will play a benefit concert in Tucson on Thursday for victims of the shooting spree in January.

The bash, organized by rockers Browne and Cooper, will raise funds for a foundation to promote civility in the wake of the shooting, which killed six people and wounded 13 others, including Democratic Representative Gabrielle Giffords.

On his website, Browne said the nonprofit foundation would support "individuals and families affected by the January 8th shooting in Tucson, and will promote civility and respect in public discourse, schools, and the community."

College dropout Jared Loughner, 22, is accused of opening fire with a semiautomatic pistol on Giffords and a crowd of bystanders attending a political event outside a grocery store.

The rampage sparked fresh debate in the United States about gun ownership and prompted soul searching over the vitriolic tenor of political debate, although no motive for the attack has been offered.

The benefit starts at 6 p.m. at the Tucson Convention Center, which lies across a road from the federal courthouse where Loughner pleaded not guilty to an expanded, 49-count indictment on Wednesday.