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463. Date: August 22, 1962
Target: President Charles de Gaulle
Location: Petit-Clamart, France
Details: De Gaulle and his wife were being driven again to their country home, except this time an identical Citroen with several bodyguards drove in front and several motorcycles followed behind. Cars filled with fifteen OAS terrorists armed with submachine guns, grenades, and Molotov cocktails were waiting in ambush. Due to the dark and the high speed of de Gaulle's motorcade, the attackers didn't have time to block the road, and simply opened fire on the motorcade. The motorcade continued on without stopping, and the bodyguards relied on evasive driving and speed to escape. Twelve bullets pierced de Gaulle's car, a front tire was shot out as well as the back window, but the de Gaulle's were uninjured. (4-STARS: Protector action during the attack entirely prevented injury.)
464. Date: October 31, 1967
Target: Vice President Hubert Humphrey
Location: Saigon, South Vietnam
Details: Humphrey had attended the inauguration ceremonies for South Vietnamese President Thieu. Later that evening, as Humphrey arrived for a reception at the Independence Palace grounds, four mortar rounds exploded at the rear of the grounds. Two people were wounded and two vehicles were demolished. Agents quickly surrounded Humphrey and rushed him inside.
465. Date: January 1969
Target: Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev
Location: Moscow, Russia
Details: A Soviet army lieutenant disguised as a policeman opened fire on Brezhnev as he was being driven to the Kremlin. Brezhnev escaped unharmed. The would-be assassin was declared deranged and confined to a mental hospital.
466. Date: July 30, 1969
Target: Secretary of State William Rogers & U.S. Ambassador A. H. Meyer
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Details: Rogers was attacked by a knife-wielding Japanese anarchist, after arriving at the airport. Meyer was knocked down by the youth, who wanted Okinawa returned to Japan. Neither man was injured.
467. Date: July 10, 1971
Target: King Hassan
Location: Rabat, Morocco
Details: King Hassan invited some 400 prominent Moroccans, diplomats, and other guests to his seaside palace of Skhirat near Rabat to celebrate his 42d birthday. The festivities ended in a burst of gunfire as more than 1,000 mutinous troops attacked the palace, hurling grenades and spraying the grounds with small-arms fire. Nearly 100 guests were killed and more than 125 were wounded. The King took refuge in a bathroom. Loyal troops crushed the revolt, killing more than 150 rebels and capturing 900 others, many of them young military cadets. A dozen high-ranking officers were executed. (4-STARS: Protector action during the attack entirely prevented injury.)
468. Date: September 22, 1972
Target: Defense Secretary Juan Enrile
Location: Manila, Philippines
Details: Several heavily armed NPA terrorists overtook Enrile's car and opened fire, striking it about thirty times. Enrile's bodyguards returned fire and the terrorists fled. Enrile was unharmed. (4-STARS: Protector action during the attack entirely prevented injury.)
469. Date: August 16, 1972
Target: King Hassan
Location: Rabat, Morocco
Details: The King was returning from Paris aboard his private Boeing 727 when pilots and passengers observed an unexpected escort of four Royal Moroccan Air Force F-5 fighters. As the Boeing approached Rabat's airport, the fighters fired on the plane, knocking out an engine and scoring other hits. Hassan himself reportedly radioed the, saying the King had been killed. The rebels broke off the attack. Within hours, key participants in the coup were arrested and shot.
470. Date: August 15, 1974
Target: President Park Chung Hee
Location: Seoul, South Korea
Details: Park was delivering a speech to 1,500 people at the National Theater when Mun Se Kwang, a North Korean terrorist, opened fire with a revolver from the crowd in front of the stage. Park ducked behind his armored podium and was unhurt, but a bullet from the assassin struck Mrs. Park in the forehead and killed her. A stray bullet from Park's bodyguard killed a girl in the choir. Kwang was arrested and later hung. (3-STARS: Protector action during the attack favorably influenced safety/survival.)
471. Date: August 11, 1976
Target: Margarita Portillo (President Jose Lopez Portillo's sister)
Location: Mexico City, Mexico
Details: Portillo was en route to work when four September 23 terrorists opened fire. Her bodyguards returned fire, killing the leader. One bodyguard was killed and three were wounded. (4-STARS: Protector action during the attack entirely prevented injury.)
472. Date: February 18, 1977
Target: President Jorge Videla
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Details: A remote-controlled bomb, planted by ERP terrorists, exploded in a culvert along the runway seconds after Videla's plane took off. His plane was missed only because of the steep angle of ascent. It was the third unsuccessful attempt to kill him.
473. Date: January 13, 1978
Target: Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
Location: New Delhi, India
Details: A man shoved his way through a crowd and put the muzzle of his revolver against the window of Gandhi's car. Bodyguards disarmed him before he could fire. (4-STARS: Protector action during the attack entirely prevented injury.)
474. Date: June 25, 1979
Target: NATO Commander Al Haig
Location: Casteau, Belgium
Details: Haig was riding in a three-car motorcade en route to work. A remote-controlled mine, hidden under a bridge by Red Army Faction terrorists, was detonated, injuring three bodyguards in the tail car. Haig's car was just past the bridge when the bomb exploded and he was not injured.
475. Date: November 6, 1979
Target: Pope John Paul II
Location: Rome, Italy
Details: A man armed with a knife forced his way into the Vatican and scuffled with a guard. He stated, "I must talk with the Pope, so I can kill him." (3-STARS: Protector action during the attack favorably influenced safety/survival.)
476. Date: April 14, 1980
Target: Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
Details: A man hurled a six-inch knife at Gandhi from six feet away, while she was outside the Parliament House. The knife narrowly missed her. Three bodyguards overpowered the attacker. (3-STARS: Protector action during the attack favorably influenced safety/survival.)
477. Date: July 18, 1980
Target: Former Prime Minister of Iran Shahpour Bakhtiar
Location: Paris, France
Details: Three terrorists, posing as reporters, forced their way into Bakhtiar's apartment building and tried to break through his armored door. A gun battle erupted with police bodyguards, killing one officer and wounding two others, plus a bystander. Bakhtiar was uninjured. The terrorists fled, but were arrested outside. Their getaway driver escaped. (4-STARS: Protector action during the attack entirely prevented injury.)
478. Date: February 16, 1981
Target: Pope John Paul II
Location: Karachi, Pakistan
Details: A grenade exploded in a crowd waiting to see the Pope at an outdoor mass, twenty minutes before his arrival. The blast killed the assassin, and wounded a bodyguard and two others.
479. Date: May 9, 1981
Target: Queen Elizabeth II
Location: Shetland Island, North Sea
Details: An IRA bomb exploded at an oil terminal before the Queen's arrival. She was missed only because she was running behind schedule.
480. Date: September 15, 1981
Target: U.S. General Frederick Kroesen
Location: Heidelberg, Germany
Details: Four Red Army Faction terrorists set up an ambush in a wooded area overlooking an intersection on Kroesen's route to work. Kroesen's three-car motorcade approached the ambush site. The lead "sweep" car p
assed by without spotting the ambush. Kroesen and his wife were riding in an armored Mercedes with a police driver. A car with two MP's followed them. As Kroesen's car stopped at the light, the terrorists fired two RPG-7 anti-tank grenades and an assault weapon. The first grenade struck the top of the trunk and passed through, shattering the back window and spraying the Kroesens with glass. The second grenade missed the car. Four rifle rounds struck the car, but didn't penetrate. The MP's jumped out with handguns, but didn't return fire. Kroesen's driver shut off the ignition, but Kroesen ordered him to drive on and they escaped. (4-STARS: Protector action during the attack entirely prevented injury.)
481. Date: October 1981
Target: Queen Elizabeth II
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand
Details: During the queen's visit, three schoolboys led by Christopher Lewis reportedly took a .22 rifle to where they knew the queen would be taking a walk. The teens chose a firing position that was so ideal that two policemen had chosen the exact same place from which to observe the event. The boys were able to sneak away. Lewis then chose a less ideal sniper's nest, and as the queen entered the target area, he fired a round at her from 600 yards away, but the round fell short. Police and security officers walking with her heard the shot, but dismissed it as a car backfiring. Lewis concealed the rifle and fled. Several weeks later, he was arrested with his two followers after committing an unrelated crime. During questioning, Lewis told officers about his assassination attempt, and told officers where he had hidden the rifle. Police recovered the rifle, but the matter was kept quiet until 1987. Lewis would likely have struck the queen had he been able to shoot from his original position. Later, Lewis also explored killing Prince Charles during a visit to New Zealand, but he was still in custody at the time. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
482. Date: May 12, 1982
Target: Pope John Paul II
Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Details: A man wearing a priest's cassock lunged at the Pope with a 14-inch bayonet. The attacker was overpowered by four bodyguards. (4-STARS: Protector action during the attack entirely prevented injury.)
483. Date: October 9, 1983
Target: South Korean President Chun Doo Hwan
Location: Rangoon, Burma
Details: Hwan was on an official visit to lay a wreath at the Martyr's Mausoleum. As some of the President's staff began assembling at the Mausoleum, one of three bombs concealed in the roof of the memorial exploded. The huge blast ripped through the crowd below, killing 21 people and wounding 46. Among the dead were Korean Foreign Minister Lee Bum Suk, Economic Planning Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Suh Suk Joo, and Minister for Commerce and Industry Kim Dong Whie. The rest of those killed were presidential advisers, journalists, and security officials, most of them South Korean. President Chun was saved because his car had been delayed in traffic and was just minutes from arriving at the memorial. The persons who detonated the bomb likely saw the South Korean ambassador's large car pull up and heard presidential-sounding music playing, and detonated the bomb early. Police arrested several suspects days later, including people who tried to commit suicide with hand grenades. They admitted they had been sent to kill Hwan, and had links to North Korea.
484. Date: April 10, 1984
Target: Defense Minister Charles Hernu
Location: Toulouse, France
Details: The grieving brother of a dead soldier drove his car at Hernu, during a funeral service for the soldier. Bodyguards shot the man in the thigh and his car stopped short. (4-STARS: Protector action during the attack entirely prevented injury.)
485. Date: May 8, 1984
Target: Assembly Member Rene Levesque
Location: Quebec, Canada
Details: A former Canadian army corporal stormed into the National Assembly and killed three government employees. The man was reportedly disgruntled about a number of government policies. On May 7, he rented a car, drove to Quebec City, and took a guided tour of the Parliament Building. He then rented a room in a motel for the night. The next day, at 9:30 a.m., he dropped off an audiotape at a radio station, with instructions to open the envelope after 10:30. They opened it anyway, saw it was a statement of the man's violent intentions, and they called the police. However, by the time police were contacted, the man's plan was already in action. At 9:45 a.m., he entered the Parliament Building through a side door, dressed in combat fatigues and armed with two submachine guns. He shot at a receptionist, then killed a messenger in a corridor. He then shot at people in a smoking room. He then went through the cafeteria and into the Assembly Chamber. Evidence indicates the man intended to assassinate Levesque and other members of the governing party. He ended up killing three government employees and wounded 13 others. No politicians were killed or wounded. The National Assembly's Sergeant-at-Arms persuaded the armed man to come to his office to discuss the matter, and to release the civilians in the Assembly Chamber. The two men spoke for more than four hours, ultimately resulting in the attacker's surrender. The man was convicted of first-degree murder, later reduced to second-degree murder. He was paroled in 1995. (3-STARS: Protector action during the attack favorably influenced safety/survival.)
486. Date: October 12, 1984
Target: Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
Location: Brighton, England
Details: Three weeks before Thatcher was to attend the Tory conference, IRA bomber Patrick Magee checked into room 629 at the Grand Hotel. He spent 24 days tearing down a bathroom wall, loading 100 pounds of gelignite explosive inside the space, rigging a delay timer, and then rebuilding the wall without leaving a trace. The bomb exploded, killing four, wounding 34, and destroying the hotel. Thatcher was in her room five floors below, but was not injured. A sweep with bomb dogs had missed the bomb because it was on a floor above the conference.
487. Date: 1986
Target: Finance Minister Antonio da Empoli
Location: Rome, Italy
Details: Empoli stepped out of his car to buy a newspaper when four Red Brigade terrorists opened fire. His bodyguard, sitting behind the wheel of the car, returned fire. A female terrorist fell and Empoli's bodyguard shot and killed her. The other three escaped. (4-STARS: Protector action during the attack entirely prevented injury.)
488. Date: May 5, 1986
Target: President Ronald Reagan
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Details: Minutes before Reagan's arrival at the Tokyo Summit, five rockets were fired at the meeting site from an apartment two miles away. The Middle Core Faction terrorist group claimed responsibility.
489. Date: October 2, 1986
Target: Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi
Location: New Delhi, India
Details: A man hidden in a gazebo fired two shots with a pistol at Gandhi as he walked nearby. Bodyguards thought the first shot was a car backfiring and didn't respond. Two people were wounded and the gunman was captured.
490. Date: March 9, 1987
Target: Deputy Mayor Jean Tiberi
Location: Paris, France
Details: Three men and a woman exchanged gunfire with police outside Tiberi's home. Two Direct Action terrorists were wounded and all were arrested. (3-STARS: Protector action during the attack favorably influenced safety/survival.)
491. Date: August 18, 1987
Target: President Junius Jaywardene
Location: Colombo, Sri Lanka
Details: Sinhalese terrorists hurled grenades into the Parliament chamber, killing a legislator, and wounding the Prime Minister, five cabinet ministers, and ten legislators. The President was unharmed. The terrorists escaped in the confusion.
492. Date: August 8, 1988
Target: Secretary of State George Shultz
Location: La Paz, Bolivia
Details: A dynamite bomb detonated about 15 feet from Shultz's motorcade as it traveled from the airport into the city. Although no injuries resulted, three veh
icles sustained damage, including Mrs. Shultz's.
493. Date: September 20, 1988
Target: Finance Secretary Hans Tietmeyer
Location: Bonn, West Germany
Details: Tietmeyer's car departed his home en route to work, when a Red Army Faction gunman fired a shotgun at him. Three pellets struck the car, but he was not injured. The attack occurred only 150 feet from his home.
494. Date: November 23, 1988
Target: Defense Minister Guerrero Paz
Location: Bogota, Colombia
Details: Paz was departing his office in an armored limousine when a 20-pound explosive device hidden in a lamppost was detonated by remote-control. Three bodyguards were killed and two were wounded, but Paz was not injured.
495. Date: January 30, 1989
Target: Party Chief George Saade
Location: Beirut, Lebanon
Details: Saade was riding in his armored Alfa Romeo, escorted by three carloads of bodyguards. A car bomb exploded as the motorcade drove by, killing three and wounding 17. Saade's car was damaged and two bodyguards were killed, but Saade was not injured. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
496. Date: March 5, 1989
Target: Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Details: Two rightist rebels attempted to ram a gas-laden Toyota truck into Takeshita's residence, but failed and were arrested. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
497. Date: April 10, 1989
Target: Supreme Court Judge Samouil
Location: Athens, Greece
Details: A bomb exploded outside the front door of Samouil's apartment, but caused no injuries. The May 1 terrorist group claimed credit.
498. Date: November 7, 1990