• Joe Biden called Giffords to wish her good luck on her jump

• 'So proud of her bravery,' husband Mark Kelly wrote on Twitter

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

Gabrielle Giffords, the former congresswoman severely injured three years ago in a mass shooting, has made an impressive recovery, learned to walk again and founded a national political organization. On Wednesday, while others gathered for bell-ringing and flag-raising ceremonies, she marked the anniversary by skydiving.

Gifford waved and blew kisses to a crowd at a skydiving site between Phoenix and Tucson after landing without injury. She described the jump as a wonderful experience.

Giffords' husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, posted a picture of her landing on his Twitter account.

"Happy she's safe. So proud of her bravery," he wrote.

Jimmy Hatch, a former Navy Seal who accompanied Giffords, said she was the least nervous person on the plane.

Hatch said the group held hands and formed a circle shortly after exiting the aircraft and then made a line withGiffords in the middle. The entire skydive lasted about a minute, he said.

He called Giffords a "rock star" for making the jump on such an emotional day.

"It's pretty incredible," he said. "They did a little moment of silence at the drop zone. The emotion was really heavy. ... She's a testimony to making the best of what you have."

Vice-president Joe Biden called Giffords to wish her good luck on her jump, according to Biden's office.

The 2011 mass shooting in Tucson left six people dead and injured 13 others, including Giffords.

About 100 residents of the city attended a ceremony on Wednesday outside the University of Arizona Medical Center, where the injured were treated.

A post on her Facebook page says Giffords has regained movement in her right arm but still struggles to speak and walk.

She has become a leader of Americans for Responsible Solutions, a national organization she founded with her husband to rival the powerful pro-gun lobby.

The group struggled to bring about any major changes at the federal and state level in its first year, but the couple is confident they laid the groundwork for success in future election cycles.

"The legacy of any day where there's a mass shooting and loss of life is, I think, a chance to reflect on who these people were and what they did, particularly the people who died," Kelly said in an interview with The Associated Press on the eve of the anniversary. "But it's also a chance to look forward and see how we can make changes and reduce the numbers of instances like this that we have."

Skydiving experts say it's relatively safe for someone with Giffords' physical struggles to make a jump.