Just 2 Seconds (46 page)

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 passed 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.)