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45. Date: August 5, 1993
Target: Federal Court Officials
Location: Topeka, Kansas
Details: Gary McKnight got on an elevator in the underground garage of the Frank Carlson Federal Building. He was armed with three pistols and several pipe bombs. He got off at the 4th floor and opened fire with a pistol, killing one court security officer and wounding a civilian. McKnight stormed through the courthouse, firing guns and tossing pipe bombs, wounding another civilian. He then shot himself in the head and fell on a pipe bomb, which exploded. McKnight was due to be sentenced that day on federal drug charges.
46. Date: May 29, 1994
Target: Islamic Leader Khallid Muhammad
Location: Riverside, California
Details: A former Nation of Islam member shot Muhammad with a 9mm pistol, also hitting four bodyguards and a bystander. The gunman was wrestled to the ground. Police found two more 9mm pistols in his backpack, and a scoped rifle in his car. All those shot survived the attack. (3-STARS: Protector action during the attack favorably influenced safety/survival.)
47. Date: July 29, 1994
Target: Doctor John Britton
Location: Pensacola, Florida
Details: Britton arrived at the Pensacola Ladies Medical Center, where he performed legal abortions. Due to the assassination of Dr. Gunn at another clinic, and death threats to Dr. Britton, Dr. Britton was wearing a bullet-resistant vest when he passed through a crowd of protestors. He was accompanied by an armed escort, an elderly retired Air Force Colonel and his wife. As they drove past protest leader Paul Hill, he opened fire with a shotgun, shooting through the truck window. The retired Colonel was shot in the head and killed. Britton attempted to grab his bodyguard's pistol, but Hill shot him in the head and killed him. The Colonel's wife was seriously wounded, but survived. Hill put down the gun and surrendered to nearby police. He was convicted of murder and was executed in 2003.
48. Date: December 10, 1994
Target: Advertising Executive Thomas Mosser
Location: North Caldwell, New Jersey
Details: Mosser prepared to go Christmas tree shopping with his wife and daughters. In the kitchen of his home, he opened a package roughly the size and shape of two videocassettes, setting off a fatal explosion. Mosser's family was home, but they were unharmed. Months later, the Unabomber took responsibility for the package, claiming that Mosser was targeted for his public relations firm's work for Exxon Corporation, the company whose tanker spilled oil in Alaska's Prince William Sound. It was the fifteenth bomb in the Unabomber case.
49. Date: April 1, 1995
Target: Singer Selena Perez
Location: Corpus Christi, Texas
Details: Yolanda Saldivar shot Selena once in the back with a .38 revolver, killing her. She then locked herself in her truck and held police at bay for nine hours, until she surrendered. Saldivar had been president of Selena's fan club.
50. Date: April 12, 1995
Target: Mayor Fred Neblick
Location: Cove, Arkansas
Details: A man drove to city hall on his riding lawn mower and shot and killed Neblick. The man was upset over a $15.55 water bill.
51. Date: April 24, 1995
Target: Timber Association President Gilbert Murray
Location: Sacramento, California
Details: A package mailed to the California Forestry Association, too difficult for the office receptionist to open, was handed over to Murray. The parcel exploded when opened, killing Murray with a force so great it pushed nails from the walls of other offices in the same building. The package was addressed to Murray's predecessor, William Dennison, and bore the return address of Closet Dimensions, a custom furniture company in Oakland, California. It was the sixteenth bomb in the Unabomber case.
52. Date: August 8, 1996
Target: Rap Singer Tupac Shakur
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Details: Gunmen in a Cadillac pulled alongside Shakur's BMW and opened fire, hitting him three times in the chest. A record executive was also hit in the head. Doctor's removed Shakur's right lung in surgery, but he died on September 13. He was shot five times while being robbed in November 1994.
53. Date: March 9, 1997
Target: Rap Singer B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace)
Location: Los Angeles, California
Details: Drive-by gunmen sprayed Wallace's GMC Suburban as he was parked outside the Peterson Automotive Museum, where he had attended a party. He was rushed to a hospital, but died en route.
54. Date: March 27, 1997
Target: 1994 Beauty Queen Shelly Lehman
Location: Republic, Missouri
Details: A man forced his way into Lehman's home and assaulted her. When police arrived, he was pistol-whipping her. They ordered the man to drop the gun, but when he pointed it at them, they killed him. He was the son of a police detective and Lehman had never met him.
55. Date: April 8, 1997
Target: Circuit Judge George Miller
Location: Urbana, Illinois
Details: John Ewing Jr., wearing a hood, walked into the Champaign County courtroom during a medical malpractice trial, took out a bottle with a wick, lit it, and threw it at the bench. It started a fire that gutted the courtroom. Miller suffered a head cut, and three others had minor injuries. Ewing escaped. There are no metal detectors in the courtroom and there is controversy over whether to install them. Ewing was later arrested. Miller had dismissed a civil suit that Ewing had filed against the Jewel grocery chain in 1988. He had filed unsuccessful claims against the FBI and CIA, claiming they are using the University of Illinois super computer to control his mind.
56. Date: July 15, 1997
Target: Fashion Designer Gianni Versace
Location: Miami Beach, Florida
Details: Andrew Cunanan shot Versace with a .40 caliber Taurus pistol on the front steps of his mansion as he was walking back from a nearby cafe he visited each morning. Cunanan was wanted in other murders across the U.S. He shot and killed himself in a houseboat two miles from Versace's home on July 24, as police surrounded the area.
57. Date: August 13, 1997
Target: County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Details: A man sat in the audience at a public meeting to argue a sales tax proposal. When Wilcox left, the man chased after her, holding a paper bag. A security guard tried to stop the man as he fired a pistol in the bag, striking Wilcox in the pelvis. Wilcox was widely criticized for supporting the tax and had received death threats.
58. Date: August 19, 1997
Target: Judge Vickie Bunnell
Location: Columbia, New Hampshire
Details: Carl Drega was pulled over by Trooper Scott Phillips because there was too much rust on his pickup. Drega wounded Phillips with an assault rifle, and then killed Trooper Leslie Lord as he arrived at the scene. He then shot Phillips four times at point-blank range with a pistol, took his bullet-resistant vest, and left in his squad car. He drove to the News and Sentinel building, where Bunnel's office was located. She spotted Drega and ran toward the back door, but he shot five times, killing her. Editor Dennis Joos tried to stop him, but Drega shot him eight times. Drega drove off, set fire to his home, and went searching for a neighbor, who was not home. He drove into Vermont and fired at Game Officer Wayne Saunders, but the bullet hit his badge. Driving on, he set up an ambush on the squad car. Two Vermont troopers arrived, but their K-9 alerted to the ambush and they took cover as Drega opened fire. He wounded Border Patrolman John Pfeifer in the chest, New Hampshire Trooper Jeffrey Caulder in the pelvis, and Trooper Robert Haase in the foot. The 45-minute gun battle ended when officers shot Drega in the head. Drega had an ongoing feud with officials over zoning and other property issues. He repeatedly threatened people, including Bunnell, carried a shotgun, and fired on anyone who came near his property. Police found on his property: 650 pounds of ammonium nitrate, a system of tunnels and b
ooby traps, bomb-making manuals, thousands of armor-piercing rounds, 20 pounds of gunpowder, fuses, 86 pipe bombs, rifles, a night scope, and 11 gallons of an explosive compound.
59. Date: October 19, 1998
Target: Senator Tommy Burks
Location: Monterey, Tennessee
Details: Byron Looper, the county property assessor, shot Burks once in the head and killed him. Looper was running for Burks' Senate seat. Burks' body was found on his farm.
60. Date: October 23, 1998
Target: Dr. Barnett Slepian
Location: Amherst, New York
Details: Slepian and his wife were in their kitchen when James Charles Kopp fired a single rifle shot through the window, hitting Slepian in the back and killing him. The 7.62mm bullet was fired from a Russian SKS assault weapon from 35 yards away. Kopp escaped and was on the FBI's ten most-wanted list until his capture in 2001. He was convicted of Slepian's murder, and admitted to scouting the Slepian neighborhood approximately six times before the shooting. Kopp was a suspect in six sniper shootings of abortion doctors at their homes in Canada and the U.S. between 1994 and 1997.
61. Date: October 19, 1999
Target: Judge Linda K. M. Ludgate
Location: Reading, Pennsylvania
Details: Ludgate suffered a broken arm, nose and facial bone when she was punched and kicked in the head. Defendant Derrick Neidig pushed past two deputies and rushed the bench after Ludgate said he could be committed to a mental health facility. He was finally subdued after five probation officers and city police present in the courtroom on other cases grabbed him as Ludgate lay unconscious. He was charged with assaulting Ludgate, who said the attack might have been prevented if there had been more guards.
62. Date: December 15, 2000
Target: Sheriff-elect Derwin Brown
Location: DeKalb, Georgia
Details: Brown was shot 15 times with a Tec-9 handgun as he arrived home, and died on the scene. Defeated incumbent, former DeKalb County Sheriff Sidney Dorsey, was convicted of ordering Brown's assassination. Dorsey reportedly ordered the killing to obstruct an expected probe into corruption occurring during his own tenure as sheriff.
63. Date: July 23, 2003
Target: City Councilman James Davis
Location: New York, New York
Details: Othniel Askew, a former political opponent, entered Davis's office and asked if they could go to City Hall together, where Davis planned to introduce legislation on workplace violence. Davis agreed and escorted Askew around the metal detector, which council members and their guests were sometimes allowed to do. As they stood on the crowded balcony of City Hall, Askew pulled a .40 caliber pistol and shot Davis several times in the torso. A plainclothes policeman then opened fire on Askew, shooting him five times. Both men died. Davis, a former policeman, was carrying a licensed pistol, but did not have time to draw it. Hours before the attack, Askew called the FBI and claimed that Davis had offered him $45,000 to drop out as a political rival and threatened his family if he did not.
64. Date: December 8, 2004
Target: Guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Details: As heavy metal band Damageplan performed at the Alrosa Villa nightclub, Nathan Gale reportedly charged the stage and gunned down four people, including Abbott, before a policeman fatally shot him. The violence came just after the opening notes by the band formed by Abbott and his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, after they left the band Pantera. Gale reportedly dodged two band members, grabbed Darrell Abbott and shot him at least three times in the head with a 9mm pistol. In less than five minutes, Gale had also killed club employee Erin Halk, fan Nathan Bray, and band bodyguard Jeff Thompson. Two other band employees, Chris Paluska and John Brooks, were wounded. Responding police officers found Gale holding a hostage in a headlock. One officer shot Gale in the face with his shotgun, killing him. Gale had 35 rounds of ammunition remaining when he died. Gale was reportedly obsessed with the popular heavy metal band and made bizarre accusations that Damageplan band members had stolen his music. When he played offensive line for the semi-pro Lima Thunder football team, Gale reportedly psyched himself up before games by piping Pantera into his headphones. He had had minor run-ins with police since 1997 but wasn't considered a troublemaker. Gale had served with the 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina until November 2003, when he was reportedly discharged after less than half of the typical four-year stint. A few hours before the shooting, Gale reportedly had showed up at Marysville's Bears Den Tattoo Studio, where he often stared at people and forced them into conversations about heavy metal music.
65. Date: August 28, 2005
Target: Rap Mogul Suge Knight
Location: Miami Beach, Florida
Details: Knight was shot once in the upper right leg shortly after midnight at a star-studded MTV party at the Shore Club hotel. Several witnesses said Knight was sitting at a VIP table when a man walked up and opened fire. No one else was injured. Screaming guests fled the party, streaming outside or taking cover in other parts of the hotel. Knight was hospitalized in good condition and scheduled for surgery to remove a bullet from his leg and repair a broken bone. A police report described the shooter only as a black male wearing a pink shirt.
Section 1B: Successful Attacks outside the United States
66. Date: April 9, 1960
Target: Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Details: Verwoerd was attending a prize cattle show and had just delivered a speech. A man rushed to the podium and fired twice with a .32 automatic. Verwoerd was rushed to the hospital for surgery and survived. The gunman was declared insane. He killed himself in his cell in 1961. Asked in 1962 if he was afraid of another attack, Verwoerd stated he was not and he didn't believe anyone wanted to kill him. He was assassinated in 1966.
67. Date: June 24, 1960
Target: President Romulo Betancourt
Location: Caracus, Venezuela
Details: A car bomb with 60 pounds of ANFO explosive was detonated by remote control as Betancourt's car went past, throwing it onto a grassy median. An aide and a bystander were killed, and the car burst into flames. Betancourt was burned, but survived.
68. Date: August 29, 1960
Target: Premier Hazza Majali
Location: Amman, Jordan
Details: Majali was sitting behind his desk when a bomb exploded inside a desk drawer, killing him and 11 others.
69. Date: October 12, 1960
Target: Socialist Party Chairman Inejiro Asanuma
Location: Japan
Details: At a televised debate event with 3,000 people in attendance, Asanuma s debating the Prime Minister Ikeda. Suddenly Otoya Yamaguchi, a right-wing student, rushed onto the stage from the wings wielding a short Japanese samurai sword. At first some bystanders thought it was a brown stick. Before anyone could react, he stabbed Asanuma twice in the chest. Yamaguchi was immediately captured by aides, and Asanuma died en route to the hospital. Less than a month later, Yamagushi hanged himself in his jail cell.
70. Date: May 30, 1961
Target: Dictator Rafael Trujillo
Location: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Details: Trujillo was being driven to visit one of his mistresses when a car filled with dissidents pulled alongside and opened fire. Trujillo was wounded and ordered his driver to stop. Both vehicles stopped and Trujillo fired his revolver at the other car, while his chauffeur fired a submachine gun. Trujillo was killed, and then stuffed into the trunk of the other car. The car was abandoned with his body inside. The assassins were eventually captured, tortured, and murdered.
71. Date: June 21, 1966
Target: Australian Labour Party leader Arthur Calwell
Location: Sydney, Australia
Calwell addressed an anti-conscription rally at Mosman Town Hall in Sydney. As Calwell was leaving the meeting and just as his car was about t
o drive off, Peter Kocan approached the passenger side of the vehicle and fired a sawed-off .22 rifle at Calwell at point-blank range. Fortunately for Calwell, the closed window deflected and slowed the bullet, which lodged harmlessly in his coat lapel, and he sustained only minor facial injuries from broken glass. Kocan was sentenced to life imprisonment and placed in an asylum for the criminally insane.
72. Date: September 6, 1966
Target: Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd
Location: Capetown, South Africa
Details: As Verwoerd sat presiding over parliament, he was stabbed to death by a page pretending to deliver a message. The page was later judged to be insane.
73. Date: August 28, 1968
Target: U.S. Envoy John Gordon Mein
Location: Guatemala
Details: Mein was returning to the embassy from a luncheon when two vehicles forced his car to stop. Several armed youths ordered Mein out and, when he fled on foot, they shot and killed him with machine gun and pistol fire. His chauffeur was not hurt.
74. Date: June 9, 1970
Target: King Hussein
Location: Amman, Jordan
Details: While en route to his summer palace, gunmen opened fire on Hussein's motorcade. Hussein was wounded by gunfire along with five others; one bodyguard died. Reportedly, the king jumped out of his car and fired back at the attackers. It was one of six failed attempts on his life.
75. Date: November 27, 1970
Target: Pope Paul VI
Location: Manila, Philippines
Details: The Pope was exiting his aircraft at the airport when Benjamin Mendoza, dressed in gray clerical clothing and holding a crucifix, approached him. Mendoza then drew a foot-long dagger from the crucifix and lunged in, stabbing the Pope in the chest, causing a minor wound. Bodyguards grabbed and disarmed him. Despite the wound, the Pope continued with his schedule. Mendoza was convicted and spent 28 months in prison. He was deported to Bolivia in 1974. (3-STARS: Protector action during the attack favorably influenced safety/survival.)