Details: Kyulev, head of Bulgaria's largest financial group, was on his way to a meeting with deputy Sofia mayor Velizar Stoilov when ten bullets riddled his BMW car, killing him and wounding his driver. Kyulev received multiple injuries in the head and chest and died instantly. His driver was taken to the hospital and survived. Investigators said the killers had repeatedly rehearsed the ambush against Kyulev.
428. Date: April 6, 2006
Target: Congressman Mario Pivaral
Location: Guatemala City, Guatemala
Details: Pivaral was shot and killed by two men on a motorcycle as he stepped out of the National Union of Hope's offices to answer a cell phone call. The killers had followed him there when he left the Congress building and were lying in wait for him to exit the office building. He had reportedly been threatened and followed for days prior to the attack. Pivaral was the second congressman to be assassinated during the current legislature.
429. Date: April 17, 2006
Target: Politician Ali Mohammad Naik
Location: Tral, India
Details: Suspected separatist rebels opened fire on Naik's motorcade. He was seriously wounded along with two of his bodyguards, and another bodyguard was killed. Naik was taken to a Srinagar hospital, where doctors immediately began operating on him. Naik's jaw was reportedly shattered and that he had deep wounds in his neck. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
430. Date: April 22, 2006
Target: Agriculture Minister Satyadeo Sawh
Location: Guyana
Details: About seven gunmen armed with rifles burst into Sawh's home and reportedly demanded jewelry and money. After giving them $120.00, the gunmen shot and killed Sawh, along with his sister, his brother, and a security guard. Another brother was hospitalized with a gunshot wound and a neighbor's security guard was also wounded. While robbery was a possible motive, authorities believed the killing was an assassination. Police reportedly stepped up security for Cabinet ministers and other high-profile figures.
431. Date: May 20, 2006
Target: Intelligence Chief Tareq Abu Rajab
Location: Gaza City, Gaza Strip
Details: A bomb exploded in an elevator shaft at Palestinian intelligence headquarters, seriously wounding Rajab. A bodyguard was killed and ten other people were hurt. The blast went off before noon at the heavily guarded four-story intelligence headquarters. Rajab and six aides and bodyguards were in an elevator when the blast went off. A spokesman for the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry suggested one of Rajab's bodyguards inadvertently dropped a hand grenade, but the intelligence service dismissed the notion. An al-Qaeda group later claimed credit. When the wounded were driven to a nearby hospital, security men fired into the air from the vehicles to clear the way. Several members of a new Hamas militia fired toward the vehicles, likely believing they were coming under attack.
432. Date: September 5, 2006
Target: Senior Intelligence Official Lt. Col. Samir Shehade
Location: Rmaile, Lebanon
Details: A remote-controlled roadside bomb loaded with nails exploded as Shehade's two-car convoy drove past. Two bodyguards and two aides were killed. Shehade and five additional bodyguards and aides were wounded. The bomb reportedly targeted the car normally driven by Shehade, but he was traveling in the other vehicle at the time. His convoy was riddled with shrapnel and TV footage showed at least one bloodied man slumped on his seat in one of the cars. Shehade had played a key role in investigating the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Shehade had received death threats because of his work in the Hariri probe. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
433. Date: September 10, 2006
Target: Governor Abdul Hakim Taniwal
Location: Gardez, Afghanistan
Details: A suicide bomber killed Taniwal as he was leaving his office. Taniwal's bodyguard and his nephew were also killed when the suicide bomber detonated explosives strapped to his body while standing next to the governor's car. The blast also wounded three police officers.
434. Date: September 13, 2006
Target: Bank Executive Andrei Kozlov
Location: Moscow, Russia
Details: Gunmen armed with silenced handguns shot Kozlov's unarmed driver in the head, killing him. They apparently mistook the driver for Kozlov. Seconds later, Kozlov emerged from sports complex where he had just finished playing soccer with a group of his colleagues. The gunmen opened fire again, shooting him in the chest. Kozlov tried to run away, but collapsed and was shot again in the head. He died five hours later, following surgery. Due to his position, Kozlov was entitled to bodyguards and an armored vehicle, but he refused both, wanting to "lead a normal life." Only five days before his death, Kozlov had called for anybody found guilty of money laundering to be banned from the banking industry for life.
435. Date: October 19, 2006
Target: Mayoral Candidate Dmitry Fotyanov
Location: Dalnergorsk, Russia
Details: Fotyanov was ending a meeting with supporters when he was killed by a sniper armed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle, firing from a vehicle parked nearby. Police officials said the rifle was equipped with a silencer. He was three days away from a runoff election in which he needed fewer than 400 votes to become the mayor.
436. Date: November 21, 2006
Target: Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel
Location: Beirut, Lebanon
Details: Gemayel was reportedly leaving a church when a car stopped suddenly and his car struck it. A car behind his then struck Geymayel's car. Three gunmen with silenced automatic weapons jumped from the first car and opened fire. Geymayel and a bodyguard sitting in front were killed. Another bodyguard in the back of the car and a civilian on the street were wounded. Twenty-four bullet casings were reportedly recovered at the scene. Gemayel was rushed to the hospital where he was declared dead.
Section 1C: Unsuccessful Attacks within the United States
It is the goal and desire of every bodyguard to avoid or defeat an attempted attack on the protectee. However, it is simply impossible to check every window along a parade route or eliminate every risk. Time constraints, changes in the protectee's plans or schedule, and lack of sufficient resources always force the bodyguard to take calculated risks, addressing the most likely hazards. Even then there are no guarantees.
In most of the following cases, an attack was launched in close proximity to the protectee and yet the protectee was unscathed. Effective protective action and strategies prevailed in many of the following lethal approaches. In others, the protectee escaped unharmed by nothing more than luck.
437. Date: March 1, 1971
Target: Members of Congress
Location: Washington, D.C.
Details: An explosion caused extensive damage to seven rooms in the original Senate wing of the Capitol Building. There were no injuries and the responsible party was never found.
438. Date: September 5, 1975
Target: President Gerald Ford
Location: Sacramento, California
Details: Ford was walking through a park from his hotel to the state capitol building, during an official visit. Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme stood among a large group of well-wishers along the route. As Ford neared her, she pulled a Colt .45 pistol out and aimed it at Ford. Secret Service Agent Larry Buendorf grabbed the gun and disarmed her, while other agents surrounded the president and rushed him into the capitol building. (4-STARS: Protector action during the attack entirely prevented injury.)
439. Date: September 22, 1975
Target: President Gerald Ford
Location: San Francisco, California
Details: Ford returned to California for an official visit. Sara Jane Moore stood among the 3,000 spectators to get a glimpse of him. As he emerged from the St. Francis Hotel, Moore pulled out a Smith & Wesson .38 revolver and fired one shot, which narrowly missed Ford, ricoche
ted and struck a taxi driver in the crowd. Moore was grabbed by other spectators and disarmed, and was unable to fire more rounds. Ford was shoved into his limousine and taken to the airport. Moore was released from prison in 2007. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
440. Date: 1976
Target: Greek Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit
Location: New York, New York
Details: During a stay at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, an assailant fired one shot at Ecevit that did not hit him. The attempted assassin was a member of a Greek Cypriot terrorist group who had obtained a job as the cashier of the hotel. When tackled by a State Department bodyguard, the assailant's prosthetic arm came off in the protector's hands. (4-STARS: Protector action during the attack entirely prevented injury.)
441. Date: November 28, 1979
Target: Senator Edward Kennedy
Location: Washington, D.C.
Details: A woman burst into Kennedy's office, shouting incoherently and pulling out a knife. A Secret Service agent assigned to Kennedy disarmed her, and was wounded during the incident. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
442. Date: June 2, 1980
Target: Mayor Richard Berkley
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Details: A man entered Berkley's office and became violent. He attacked Berkley's bodyguard with a pair of scissors, wounding him slightly. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
443. Date: November 7, 1983
Target: Members of Congress
Location: Washington, D.C.
Details: Shortly before 11 p.m., a bomb exploded outside one of the Capitol Building's cloakrooms close to the Senate chamber. There were no injuries.
444. Date: March 15, 1984
Target: President Ronald Reagan
Location: Washington, D.C.
Details: David Allen Mahonski had been under FBI surveillance for making threats against Reagan. Mahonski was noticed in front of the south grounds of the White House by security agents who then approached him. He pulled a sawed-off shotgun from beneath his coat, and one of the agents shot him in the arm. He was subsequently arrested, arraigned on March 16, and scheduled for a psychiatric evaluation, which later detected "emotional problems." He had been warned to stay away from the White House by Secret Service officers in the months leading up to the shooting. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
445. Date: December 28, 1991
Target: Governor Pete Wilson
Location: Sacramento, California
Details: A member of Wilson's staff opened a box in the mailroom and found it contained a bomb. EOD personnel defused it. There were rocks in the box for shrapnel.
446. Date: May 18, 1994
Target: ABC President Robert Iger
Location: New York, New York
Details: An explosive device was delivered to Iger's office. An incendiary event occurred when an assistant opened the bomb, but the full explosion did not occur. Another bomb sent to Iger exploded while en route to an office in Los Angeles.
447. Date: June 14, 1994
Target: Judge Brian Silverman
Location: Alliance, Nebraska
Details: When a defendant in Silverman's courtroom pulled a .22 pistol out of his manila folder, a deputy disarmed him before he could fire a shot. He had just been sentenced to prison. (4-STARS: Protector action during the attack entirely prevented injury.)
448. Date: September 12, 1994
Target: President Bill Clinton
Location: Washington, D.C.
Details: Frank Corder crashed a stolen Cessna 150 airplane into the south side of the White House, killing himself. The Clintons were staying in the Blair House and were not injured.
449. Date: October 3, 1994
Target: Governor Tommy Thompson
Location: Madison, Wisconsin
Details: A pipe bomb exploded outside Thompson's campaign office knocking out windows but causing no injuries.
450. Date: October 29, 1994
Target: President Bill Clinton
Location: Washington, D.C.
Details: Francisco Duran pulled a Norinco SKS-style rifle from under his trench coat and fired 27 rounds at the White House. When he tried to reload, two bystanders tackled and held him until officers arrived. Police found a map in his car with the words "kill the Prez" written on it, as well as a Mossberg shotgun. On August 23, Duran had called Senator Ben Campbell's office in Colorado and threatened to "go to Washington and take someone out." (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
451. Date: November 14, 1995
Victim: Mayor John Logie
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Details: Two shots were fired through the window of Logie's house, but there were no injuries. Police investigated a man upset over plans to raze his neighborhood.
452. Date: September 24, 1997
Target: City Alderman Donny Ray Mason
Location: Overland, Missouri
Details: Three shots, probably from a .22, were fired into the front door of Mason's home as he was arriving home late at night. He was not injured and didn't see the gunman. He has been feuding with the city mayor.
453. Date: July 24, 1998
Target: Members of Congress
Location: Washington, DC
Details: A mentally ill man named Russell Weston shot his way into the Capitol Building, killing two Capitol policemen. The second officer returned fire, wounding and stopping Weston. Only a door separated Congressman Tom Delay from the incident. (4-STARS: Protector action during the attack entirely prevented injury.)
454. Date: February 7, 2001
Target: President George W. Bush
Location: Washington, D.C.
Details: Former IRS employee Robert Pickett fired two shots from a .38 revolver at the south side of the White House. Uniformed Secret Service agents confronted him and attempted to negotiate his surrender. When he waived the gun around, an agent shot him in the leg and took him into custody. Pickett had a grievance against his IRS bosses. He had been hospitalized five times by psychiatrists since August 1986, including twice for attempted suicide by drug overdose. He had left a suicide note in his car. Bush was inside the White House, but in no danger. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
455. Date: April 11, 2003
Target: Rapper Snoop Dogg
Location: Los Angeles, California
Details: Snoop was traveling in a five-car motorcade when a car pulled alongside and a gunman opened fire. Two of Snoop's cars were hit, and one of his bodyguards suffered a minor wound to the back, but Snoop was unharmed. His entourage included seven bodyguards.
456. Date: June 15, 2003
Target: Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez
Location: Santa Ana, California
Details: A PVC pipe bomb exploded prematurely inside a 1990 Toyota Cressida, badly injuring the man inside. The vehicle was parked behind the campaign office of Sanchez, which was closed and unoccupied. The man exited the vehicle on fire and was rescued by a security guard. He was later arrested at the hospital.
457. Date: November 6, 2003
Target: President George W. Bush
Location: Washington, D.C.
Details: A letter addressed to Bush arrived at a mail processing facility located several miles from the White House. It contained a small amount of low-grade ricin. The Secret Service turned the incident over to the FBI for investigation.
458. Date: February 2, 2004
Target: Senator Bill Frist
Location: Washington, D.C.
Details: White powder was found in Frist's office where staff members open his mail. The Capitol was closed and everyone was evacuated
. The powder tested positive for ricin, and there were no injuries. (Note: Congressional mail is irradiated since the 2001 anthrax attack, but radiation would have no effect on ricin.)
459. Date: September 9-10, 2004
Target: U.S. Governors and Nevada Corrections Director Jackie Crawford
Location: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming
Details: Federal and state investigators questioned Nevada prison inmates about suspicious letters -- rigged with a match to flare when the envelope was opened -- that were sent from the prison to at least 19 state leaders and Nevada's corrections director. In three letters, the match flared, but no one was hurt. Letters were sent to many governors' offices around the country.
460. Date: February 28, 2005
Target: Federal Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Details: Judge Lefkow returned home to find her husband, Michael F. Lefkow, and her mother, Donna Grace Humphrey, dead in the basement. Each had been shot in the head. Matthew Hale later killed himself when found by police. He had filed a medical malpractice suit handled by Judge Lefkow, and after 12 years of seeking to resolve the case in court, he sought revenge on the judicial system.
461. Date: February 5, 2006
Target: Rap Singer Busta Rhymes
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Details: Rhymes and others were scheduled to be filming on a ninth-floor soundstage when a shooting occurred outside the building. Israel Ramirez, a bodyguard for Rhymes, was killed with a single shot to the chest. Rhymes was not injured. About 500 people were gathered for the video that was to accompany a remix of Rhymes' latest record.
Section 1D: Unsuccessful Attacks outside the United States
462. Date: September 8, 1961
Target: President Charles de Gaulle
Location: Crancey, France
Details: De Gaulle and his wife were being driven in their Citroen Deesse to their country home. A bomb made from a propane cylinder filled with 100 pounds of plastic explosives was buried in a sand pile alongside the road. A canister holding 15 liters of napalm lay next to the cylinder. De Gaulle's car approached the site at about 70mph as the bomb was detonated. The heavy car lurched and de Gaulle ordered the chauffeur to drive through the fireball. No one was harmed, but they stopped to change cars at a nearby barracks. There were 31 documented attempts to assassinate de Gaulle, but they all failed. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
Just two seconds Page 28