The Pima County Police Department said police were called to the home of Jared Lee Loughner, the suspect in Saturday's shooting at a Tucson Safeway that left six dead and a congresswoman critically injured, and his family more than once.

However, it is not clear why officers went to the home or if Jared Loughner was involved in the incidents.

In the days following the shooting, friends and neighbors have spoken out about Loughner and his family.

“He [Jared] was a nihilist and loves causing chaos, and that is probably why he did the shooting, along with the fact he was sick in the head,” said Zane Gutierrez, a friend of Loughner who would sometimes meet him for target practice.

Gutierrez said his friend was skilled with a gun and was obsessed with the meaning and importance of dreams. Loughner began perfecting his marksmanship in high school.

"He [Jared] was completely different back then than he is now," wrote Kelsey Hawkes, a high school girlfriend of Loughner, in an e-mail to the Los Angeles Times. "He was very sweet, caring, and kind, had no interest in drugs or alcohol, and had a big interest in music. He didn't start acting differently until AFTER we had been broken up. While we were still dating he had never shown any signs that he would become the person he is today."

Loughner family neighbors also noticed a change in the behavior of Jared's family as a whole.

From the New York Times:

His father, Randy, once more of a presence in their mostly working-class neighborhood in northwest Tucson as he went off to work as a carpet-layer and pool-deck installer, became a silent and often sullen presence.

One neighbor, George Gayan, who said he had known the family for 30 years, described a kind of a gradual “pulling back” by the family.

On Tuesday, the family broke their silence on the tragedy when NPR's Susannah George was handed a statement:

This is a very difficult time for us. We ask the media to respect our privacy. There are no words that can possibly express how we feel. We wish that there were, so we could make you feel better. We don't understand why this happened. It may not make any difference, but we wish that we could change the heinous events of Saturday. We care very deeply about the victims and their families. We are so very sorry for their loss.

Thank You,

The Loughner Family

Loughner made his first court appearance Monday to face federal charges in connection with the Tucson rampage, including two counts of murder. His next appearance is scheduled for Jan. 24.