13 May 1981 A.D. ST. PETER’S, ROME: Assassination attempt on John Paul II
13 May 1981 A.D. ST. PETER’S, ROME: Assassination attempt on John Paul II Editors. “Pope John Paul II shot.” History.com. 2010. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/pope-john-paul-ii-shot . Accessed 12 May 2015. Near the start of his weekly general audience in Rome’s St. Peter’s Square, Pope John Paul II is shot and seriously wounded while passing through the square in an open car. The assailant, 23-year-old escaped Turkish murderer Mehmet Ali Agca, fired four shots, one of which hit the pontiff in the abdomen, narrowly missing vital organs, and another that hit the pope’s left hand. A third bullet struck 60-year-old American Ann Odre in the chest, seriously wounding her, and the fourth hit 21-year-old Jamaican Rose Hill in the arm. Agca’s weapon was knocked out of his hand by bystanders, and he was detained until his arrest by police. The pope was rushed by ambulance to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he underwent more than five hours of surgery and was listed in crit...