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Pope John Paul II is shot and wounded at St. Peter’s Square in Rome, Italy. Turkish terrorist Mehmet Ali Agca, an escaped fugitive already convicted of a previous murder, fired several shots at the religious leader, two of which wounded nearby tourists. Agca was immediately captured.
Agca claimed that he had planned to go to England to kill the king but couldn’t because it turned out there was only a queen and “Turks don’t shoot women.” He also claimed to have Palestinian connections, although the PLO quickly denied any involvement. Detectives believed that his confession had been coached in order to throw investigators offtrack.
When his trial began on July 20, 1981, Agca tried an unlikely legal gambit: He maintained that Italy did not have the right to prosecute him since the crime occurred at the Vatican. Although he threatened to go on a hunger strike if his trial wasn’t shifted to a Vatican court, his request was denied and he was found guilty two days later. He was sentenced to life in prison but released in 2010 due to several amnesties and changes to the penal code.
Many people argued that the very unusual and short trial must have been an effort to cover up evidence of a conspiracy. In fact, Italian authorities had their own suspicions but did not want to disclose them in a highly publicized trial. Instead, they conducted a relatively quiet investigation into the connection between Agca and Bulgaria’s KGB-connected intelligence agency.
The motive behind an alleged Soviet-inspired assassination must be viewed in the context of the Cold War in 1981. Pope John Paul II was Polish-born and openly supportive of the democratic movement in that country. His visit to Poland in 1979 worried the Kremlin, which saw its hold on Eastern Europe in danger.
Although the exact extent of the conspiracy remains unknown today, Agca reportedly met with Bulgarian spies Sergei Antonov, Zhelio Vassilev, Todor Aivazov, and Bekir Celenk in Rome about assassinating Lech Walesa, the Polish labor union leader. However, this plan was abandoned when Agca was offered $1.25 million to kill the pope.
Agca claimed that he had planned to go to England to kill the king but couldn’t because it turned out there was only a queen and “Turks don’t shoot women.” He also claimed to have Palestinian connections, although the PLO quickly denied any involvement. Detectives believed that his confession had been coached in order to throw investigators offtrack.
When his trial began on July 20, 1981, Agca tried an unlikely legal gambit: He maintained that Italy did not have the right to prosecute him since the crime occurred at the Vatican. Although he threatened to go on a hunger strike if his trial wasn’t shifted to a Vatican court, his request was denied and he was found guilty two days later. He was sentenced to life in prison but released in 2010 due to several amnesties and changes to the penal code.
Many people argued that the very unusual and short trial must have been an effort to cover up evidence of a conspiracy. In fact, Italian authorities had their own suspicions but did not want to disclose them in a highly publicized trial. Instead, they conducted a relatively quiet investigation into the connection between Agca and Bulgaria’s KGB-connected intelligence agency.
The motive behind an alleged Soviet-inspired assassination must be viewed in the context of the Cold War in 1981. Pope John Paul II was Polish-born and openly supportive of the democratic movement in that country. His visit to Poland in 1979 worried the Kremlin, which saw its hold on Eastern Europe in danger.
Although the exact extent of the conspiracy remains unknown today, Agca reportedly met with Bulgarian spies Sergei Antonov, Zhelio Vassilev, Todor Aivazov, and Bekir Celenk in Rome about assassinating Lech Walesa, the Polish labor union leader. However, this plan was abandoned when Agca was offered $1.25 million to kill the pope.
Pope John Paul II is shot - May 13, 1981 - HISTORY.com
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May 13, 1981: Assassination Attempt on Pope John Paul II!
From May 13, 1981, here is the CBS News on an assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II. Taped from WJKW-TV8, Cleveland.
Thank you TSgt Joe C. for reminding us that on May 13, 1981 Turkish terrorist Mehmet Ali Agca shot and wounded Pope John Paul II at St. Peter’s Square in Rome, Italy.
Background fr5om New York Times
"Pope Is Shot in Car in Vatican Square; Surgeons Term Condition 'Guarded'; Turk, an Escaped Murderer, Is Seized
2 Bullets Hit Pontiff
________________________________________
Part of Intestine is Removed in 5-Hour Operation
________________________________________
Hand Also Injured
________________________________________
By HENRY TANNER
Special to The New York Times
ROME, Thursday, May 14 -- Pope John Paul II was shot and seriously wounded yesterday as he was standing in an open car moving slowly among more than 10,000 worshipers in St. Peter's Square.
The police arrested a gunman who was later identified as an escaped Turkish murderer who had previously threatened the Pope's life in the name of Islam.
The Pontiff, who was struck by two pistol bullets and wounded in the abdomen, right arm and left hand, underwent 5 hours and 25 minutes of surgery in which parts of his intestine were removed. A hospital bulletin at midnight said he was in ''guarded'' condition, but the director of surgery expressed confidence that ''the Pontiff will recover soon.''
Pope Falls Into Aides' Arms
The attack occurred as the Pope, dressed in white, was shaking hands and lifting small children in his arms while being driven around the square. Suddenly, as he reached a point just outside the Vatican's bronze gate, there was a burst of gunfire.
One hand rising to his face and blood staining his garments, the Pope faltered and fell into the arms of his Polish secretary, the Rev. Stanislaw Dziwisz, and his personal servant, Angelo Gugel, who were in the car with him.
The 60-year-old Pope, the spiritual leader of nearly 600 million Roman Catholics around the world, was rushed by ambulance to Gemelli Hospital, two miles north of the Vatican, for surgery.
'How Could They Do It?'
The Pope was conscious as he was taken to the operating room and seemed to speak of the attack on him as the work of more than one person.
''How could they do it?'' a nurse quoted the Pope as asking. The gunman fired four times in the attack, the police reported, and two tourists, an American and a Jamaican, were wounded by two of the bullets. Ann Odre, 60, of Buffalo, was struck in the chest; she underwent surgery for removal of the bullet and was listed in critical condition. Rose Hill, 21, of Jamaica, was slightly wounded in an arm.
Police Say Gunman Acted Alone
The gunman, who the police said was armed with a 9-millimeter Browning automatic, was set upon in the square by bystanders, who knocked the pistol out of his hand. He was then arrested, taken away by police car and later identified as Mehmet Ali Agca, 23. Despite reports that another man had been seen fleeing from the square, the police said they were convinced that the gunman had acted alone.
The police quoted Mr. Agca as having told them, ''My life is not important.'' He was said to have arrived in Italy last Saturday, landing at the Milan airport, and to have come to Rome on Monday. The police said that he had in his pocket several notes in handwritten Turkish, one of them saying, ''I am killing the Pope as a protest against the imperialism of the Soviet Union and the United States and against the genocide that is being carried out in El Salvador and Afghanistan.''
The Turkish news agency Anatolia reported that Mr. Agca had been convicted of murdering Abdi Ipekci, the editor of the Turkish newspaper Milliyet, in February 1979 but escaped from prison later that year. Anatolia said he wrote a letter to the newspaper on Nov. 26, 1979, saying that he had fled from prison with the intention of killing the Pope, who was just then due in Ankara and Istanbul.
That threat caused a tightening of security for the Pope's Turkish visit.
Shock and Compassion
The attack yesterday drew expressions of shock and compassion from around the world. Pilgrims in St. Peter's Square fell to their knees to pray for the Pope's recovery.
The shooting occurred at 5:19 P.M., near the start of the Pope's weekly general audience. As the Pope fell into the arms of his aides, Vatican security men in plain clothes jumped on the vehicle, which then raced through an opening in the crowd to a gate where an ambulance was parked. An ambulance is always ready at general audiences and other Vatican ceremonies.
The ambulance sped through the interior of the Vatican to Porta Sant'Anna, a side gate and from there to Gemelli, the teaching hospital of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart and one of Rome's best hospitals. Gemelli physicians were with him in the ambulance.
'Holy Father Has Been Wounded'
At the square a few minutes after the attack, a loudspeaker announced in Italian, English, French, Chinese and several other languages:
''The Holy Father has been wounded. We will now offer prayers for him, for his speedy recovery.'' Many in the crowd - priests, nuns and others - burst into tears. Some of the worshipers rushed toward the spot where the shooting had occurred. Some formed into groups to offer their own prayers and sing hymns. After a few minutes a hymn in Polish could be heard over the loudspeakers, and the square slowly emptied.
The gunman was rescued from angry pilgrims by the police and taken to a police station half a block from St. Peter's. From there he was transferred to another place in Rome that was not made public.
Helicopters Circle Over Vatican
The police at first assumed that the assailant had one or more accomplices, and police cars, both marked and unmarked, raced in various directions from St. Peter's where they had gathered. Police helicopters circled over the Vatican and adjacent areas.
This activity had been prompted by reports from witnesses who said that they had seen another dark-haired, dark-skinned man with a bag fleeing from the scene as the gunman was overpowered.
The gunman is expected to be tried in Italy rather than in the independent Vatican City and, if convicted, faces life imprisonment. In theory, the Holy See is empowered to try people for crimes committed on its territory. But as has been its practice, it is expected to give Italy the right to try the gunman for the assassination attempt.
Pope in Intensive Care
The first precise medical report on the Pope's condition was issued last evening after two hours of surgery. Prof. Luigi Candia, the director of Gemelli Hospital, said the Pope was underoing ''abdominal surgery for multiple intestinal lesions caused by a bullet that went through his intestinal cavity.''
''Cardiocirculatory conditions are satisfactory,'' the professor said. He reported that the Pope, whose 61st birthday is next Monday, had received a transfusion of some blood of the type Rh negative.
At midnight a second report from the hospital said that after the operation the Pope had been transferred to the intensive care unit of the hospital.
'The Pontiff Will Recover'
Prof. Carlo Castiglione, director of surgery at the hospital, told reporters that ''the prognosis remains reserved,'' an expression that in Italian medical parlance means that the patient is still on the critical list. He confirmed that the Pope had been hit by two bullets and said:
''We are confident the Pontiff will recover. ''The Holy Father has been fortunate, and as he has a very strong fiber we trust that he will return to normal.'' ''One of the bullets came very close to hitting vital organs, such as the aorta,'' he said, making it clear, as did other doctors, that no vital organ had actually been hit.
Another doctor at the hospital told an Italian television reporter on camera that the Pope's life had been in danger at the start of the operation because of severe loss of blood through hemorrhaging.
Transfusion of 6 Pints of Blood
The doctor, whose name was not given, said that the Pope would remain in intensive care for 12 to 24 hours. He explained that doctors had to remove parts of the intestines in three places.
The Vatican announced that the Pope was in surgery from 6 to 11:25 P.M.. It said he had suffered multiple lesions of the abdomen and a massive hemorrhage and had been given a transfusion of about six pints of blood. The Vatican also said that he had been wounded in the right forearm and the second finger of his left hand.
A surgeon at the hospital said that several parts of the Pope's bowel had to be removed and that a temporary colostomy, or opening of the colon, was made to permit the removal of wastes from the body. A second operation would eventually be needed to close the opening in the colon."
From May 13, 1981, here is the CBS News on an assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II. Taped from WJKW-TV8, Cleveland.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfN8UT8zOhk
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC (Join to see) Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Lt Col Charlie Brown Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. "Bill" Price Maj Marty Hogan SCPO Morris Ramsey SSG John Ross SGT Mark Halmrast Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. SGT Gregory Lawritson CPL Dave Hoover SPC Margaret Higgins SrA Christopher Wright Cpl Gabriel F. Cpl Scott McCarroll
Background fr5om New York Times
"Pope Is Shot in Car in Vatican Square; Surgeons Term Condition 'Guarded'; Turk, an Escaped Murderer, Is Seized
2 Bullets Hit Pontiff
________________________________________
Part of Intestine is Removed in 5-Hour Operation
________________________________________
Hand Also Injured
________________________________________
By HENRY TANNER
Special to The New York Times
ROME, Thursday, May 14 -- Pope John Paul II was shot and seriously wounded yesterday as he was standing in an open car moving slowly among more than 10,000 worshipers in St. Peter's Square.
The police arrested a gunman who was later identified as an escaped Turkish murderer who had previously threatened the Pope's life in the name of Islam.
The Pontiff, who was struck by two pistol bullets and wounded in the abdomen, right arm and left hand, underwent 5 hours and 25 minutes of surgery in which parts of his intestine were removed. A hospital bulletin at midnight said he was in ''guarded'' condition, but the director of surgery expressed confidence that ''the Pontiff will recover soon.''
Pope Falls Into Aides' Arms
The attack occurred as the Pope, dressed in white, was shaking hands and lifting small children in his arms while being driven around the square. Suddenly, as he reached a point just outside the Vatican's bronze gate, there was a burst of gunfire.
One hand rising to his face and blood staining his garments, the Pope faltered and fell into the arms of his Polish secretary, the Rev. Stanislaw Dziwisz, and his personal servant, Angelo Gugel, who were in the car with him.
The 60-year-old Pope, the spiritual leader of nearly 600 million Roman Catholics around the world, was rushed by ambulance to Gemelli Hospital, two miles north of the Vatican, for surgery.
'How Could They Do It?'
The Pope was conscious as he was taken to the operating room and seemed to speak of the attack on him as the work of more than one person.
''How could they do it?'' a nurse quoted the Pope as asking. The gunman fired four times in the attack, the police reported, and two tourists, an American and a Jamaican, were wounded by two of the bullets. Ann Odre, 60, of Buffalo, was struck in the chest; she underwent surgery for removal of the bullet and was listed in critical condition. Rose Hill, 21, of Jamaica, was slightly wounded in an arm.
Police Say Gunman Acted Alone
The gunman, who the police said was armed with a 9-millimeter Browning automatic, was set upon in the square by bystanders, who knocked the pistol out of his hand. He was then arrested, taken away by police car and later identified as Mehmet Ali Agca, 23. Despite reports that another man had been seen fleeing from the square, the police said they were convinced that the gunman had acted alone.
The police quoted Mr. Agca as having told them, ''My life is not important.'' He was said to have arrived in Italy last Saturday, landing at the Milan airport, and to have come to Rome on Monday. The police said that he had in his pocket several notes in handwritten Turkish, one of them saying, ''I am killing the Pope as a protest against the imperialism of the Soviet Union and the United States and against the genocide that is being carried out in El Salvador and Afghanistan.''
The Turkish news agency Anatolia reported that Mr. Agca had been convicted of murdering Abdi Ipekci, the editor of the Turkish newspaper Milliyet, in February 1979 but escaped from prison later that year. Anatolia said he wrote a letter to the newspaper on Nov. 26, 1979, saying that he had fled from prison with the intention of killing the Pope, who was just then due in Ankara and Istanbul.
That threat caused a tightening of security for the Pope's Turkish visit.
Shock and Compassion
The attack yesterday drew expressions of shock and compassion from around the world. Pilgrims in St. Peter's Square fell to their knees to pray for the Pope's recovery.
The shooting occurred at 5:19 P.M., near the start of the Pope's weekly general audience. As the Pope fell into the arms of his aides, Vatican security men in plain clothes jumped on the vehicle, which then raced through an opening in the crowd to a gate where an ambulance was parked. An ambulance is always ready at general audiences and other Vatican ceremonies.
The ambulance sped through the interior of the Vatican to Porta Sant'Anna, a side gate and from there to Gemelli, the teaching hospital of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart and one of Rome's best hospitals. Gemelli physicians were with him in the ambulance.
'Holy Father Has Been Wounded'
At the square a few minutes after the attack, a loudspeaker announced in Italian, English, French, Chinese and several other languages:
''The Holy Father has been wounded. We will now offer prayers for him, for his speedy recovery.'' Many in the crowd - priests, nuns and others - burst into tears. Some of the worshipers rushed toward the spot where the shooting had occurred. Some formed into groups to offer their own prayers and sing hymns. After a few minutes a hymn in Polish could be heard over the loudspeakers, and the square slowly emptied.
The gunman was rescued from angry pilgrims by the police and taken to a police station half a block from St. Peter's. From there he was transferred to another place in Rome that was not made public.
Helicopters Circle Over Vatican
The police at first assumed that the assailant had one or more accomplices, and police cars, both marked and unmarked, raced in various directions from St. Peter's where they had gathered. Police helicopters circled over the Vatican and adjacent areas.
This activity had been prompted by reports from witnesses who said that they had seen another dark-haired, dark-skinned man with a bag fleeing from the scene as the gunman was overpowered.
The gunman is expected to be tried in Italy rather than in the independent Vatican City and, if convicted, faces life imprisonment. In theory, the Holy See is empowered to try people for crimes committed on its territory. But as has been its practice, it is expected to give Italy the right to try the gunman for the assassination attempt.
Pope in Intensive Care
The first precise medical report on the Pope's condition was issued last evening after two hours of surgery. Prof. Luigi Candia, the director of Gemelli Hospital, said the Pope was underoing ''abdominal surgery for multiple intestinal lesions caused by a bullet that went through his intestinal cavity.''
''Cardiocirculatory conditions are satisfactory,'' the professor said. He reported that the Pope, whose 61st birthday is next Monday, had received a transfusion of some blood of the type Rh negative.
At midnight a second report from the hospital said that after the operation the Pope had been transferred to the intensive care unit of the hospital.
'The Pontiff Will Recover'
Prof. Carlo Castiglione, director of surgery at the hospital, told reporters that ''the prognosis remains reserved,'' an expression that in Italian medical parlance means that the patient is still on the critical list. He confirmed that the Pope had been hit by two bullets and said:
''We are confident the Pontiff will recover. ''The Holy Father has been fortunate, and as he has a very strong fiber we trust that he will return to normal.'' ''One of the bullets came very close to hitting vital organs, such as the aorta,'' he said, making it clear, as did other doctors, that no vital organ had actually been hit.
Another doctor at the hospital told an Italian television reporter on camera that the Pope's life had been in danger at the start of the operation because of severe loss of blood through hemorrhaging.
Transfusion of 6 Pints of Blood
The doctor, whose name was not given, said that the Pope would remain in intensive care for 12 to 24 hours. He explained that doctors had to remove parts of the intestines in three places.
The Vatican announced that the Pope was in surgery from 6 to 11:25 P.M.. It said he had suffered multiple lesions of the abdomen and a massive hemorrhage and had been given a transfusion of about six pints of blood. The Vatican also said that he had been wounded in the right forearm and the second finger of his left hand.
A surgeon at the hospital said that several parts of the Pope's bowel had to be removed and that a temporary colostomy, or opening of the colon, was made to permit the removal of wastes from the body. A second operation would eventually be needed to close the opening in the colon."
From May 13, 1981, here is the CBS News on an assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II. Taped from WJKW-TV8, Cleveland.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfN8UT8zOhk
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC (Join to see) Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Lt Col Charlie Brown Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. "Bill" Price Maj Marty Hogan SCPO Morris Ramsey SSG John Ross SGT Mark Halmrast Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. SGT Gregory Lawritson CPL Dave Hoover SPC Margaret Higgins SrA Christopher Wright Cpl Gabriel F. Cpl Scott McCarroll
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