Medgar Evers | Federal Bureau of Investigation

On June 12, 1963, American civil rights activist Medgar Evers was assassinated by white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith in Jackson, Mississippi. An excerpt from the article:

"About half past midnight, a shot rang out.

It was June 12, 1963, in a suburban neighborhood of Jackson, Mississippi. A 37-year-old civil rights activist named Medgar Evers had just come home after a meeting of the NAACP.

As he began the short walk up to his single-story rambler, the bullet struck Evers in the back. He staggered up to the steps of the house, then collapsed.

Across the street on a lightly wooded hill, another man jumped up in pain. The recoil from the Enfield rifle he had just fired drove the scope into his eye, badly bruising him. He dropped the weapon and fled.

Byron De La Beckwith (Left) Is Escorted into the Jackson Police Station by FBI agents on June 23, 1963 (AP Photo)Meanwhile, Evers’ wife and three children—still awake after watching an important civil rights speech by President John F. Kennedy—heard the shot and quickly came outside. They were soon joined by neighbors and police. His wounds severe, Evers died within the hour.

Leading the investigation, the local police immediately found the rifle and determined that it had been recently fired. Back at the station, a fingerprint was recovered from the scope and submitted to the FBI. We connected it to a man named Byron De La Beckwith based on its similarity to his military service prints. He was arrested several days later. Beckwith, a known white supremacist and segregationist, had been asking around to find out the location of Evers’ home for some time prior to the shooting."