Gabrielle Giffords: New Pictures Released [PHOTOS]

The new photos of Representative Gabrielle Giffords have been released on Sunday. It has been almost six months after she was shot in the head in Tucson in January, 2011.

The new photos of the Democratic congresswoman from Arizona have been posted on her Facebook page which were taken on May 17, 2011, a day after she watched her husband -- astronaut Mark Kelly -- take off on the Space Shuttle Endeavor, according to media reports. She had a surgery to replace a piece of her skull on May 18, 2011. Doctors are impressed with Giffords recovery but she is still having difficulty to communicate.

Giffords spokesman C.J. Karamargin mentioned staff members released the photos Sunday to assist satisfy intense interest in the congresswoman's appearance.

The timing coincides with plans to release Giffords from the hospital later this month or in early July. Her staff is hoping that the photos will help curb unwanted photography when she starts visiting an outpatient clinic in a more public setting.

What we wanted to avoid was a paparazzi-like frenzy, Karamargin said.

It's has been almost five months since she has been in a rehabilitation at the IRR Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston.

The mass shooting that took place at a community event on January 8, killed 6 people and injured 13.

The photos with short hair showed how far she has come since she was shot in the left side of her forehead.

Carusone told the Associated Press late Saturday that doctors and family were considering many factors while weighing when to release Giffords from the hospital.

We're looking at before the end of the month. We're looking at early July, Carusone said. We don't have a date.