Court orders Loughner back to Mo. hospital

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TUCSON, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- A federal appeals court ordered Tucson mass shooting suspect Jared Loughner back to a Missouri prison hospital while appealing his forced psychiatric treatment.

Loughner had requested he remain in Tucson, where he was arrested in January for a killing spree aimed at U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., CNN reported. He was sent to the Federal Medical Center in Springfield, Mo., after being found unfit to stand trial.

Six people, including a 9-year-old girl and a federal judge, were killed when Loughner opened fire outside a Tucson supermarket. Thirteen were wounded, including Giffords, who was shot in the head and has been undergoing rehabilitation.

"Loughner has been determined to require psychiatric treatment and will be involuntarily medicated for the immediate future whether or not he is transported to the Missouri facility," the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday. "As he therefore has not demonstrated any irreparable harm that is probable if the stay is not granted, we deny the emergency motion."