U.S. Capitol shooting incident (1954) |
The U.S. Capitol shooting incident of 1954 was an attack on March
1, 1954 by four Puerto Rican
nationalists who shot thirty rounds from the Ladies' Gallery (a balcony for
visitors) of the United
States House of Representatives into the floor of the chamber.
The attackers (Lolita
Lebrón, Rafael
Cancel Miranda, Andres Figueroa Cordero and Irving Flores Rodriguez) unfurled a Puerto Rican flag and began spraying bullets
at the 240 Representatives who were debating an immigration bill. Five Representatives were wounded in the Luger and automatic pistol attack, one was seriously hurt. (The partisan breakdown, as reported by the Washington Post, was three Democrats and two Republicans.) The
wounded lawmakers were Alvin
Bentley (he took a bullet to the chest), Clifford Davis (shot in the leg), Ben F. Jensen (shot in the back), George H. Fallon and Kenneth A. Roberts.
The assailants spent 25 years in prison.
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