Just 2 Seconds (73 page)

1065.
Date: December 3, 1999
Victim: International Banker Edmond Safra
Location: Monte Carlo, Monaco
Details: Safra's male nurse set a fire in a trashcan to create an emergency situation wherein he could save Safra's life. A sophisticated security system in the six-story building sounded the alarm immediately, and Safra believed that intruders had entered his building. He placed himself and their nanny in a bathroom that has been modified for entry-resistance. The blaze quickly spread to the domed roof of the building. It took firefighters three hours to extinguish the blaze. Safra and the nanny died of asphyxiation. Safra's wife and her granddaughter, who locked themselves in another room, were rescued. The male nurse suffered two self-inflicted wounds that he claimed were from two intruders. He later confessed to setting the fire and cutting himself with a knife.

1066.
Date: February 10, 2000
Victim: Vice President Al Gore
Location: Los Angeles, California
Details: Gore was at the USC Medical Center promoting his health care proposal when gunfire erupted at a fast-food restaurant nearby. Three people were shot. Gore was scheduled to leave the hospital at that time, but the Secret Service held the motorcade for about 1/2 hour, until they were sure the area was safe.

1067.
Date: June 18, 2003
Victim: Sandro Luiz da Silva (son of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva)
Location: Sao Paulo, Brazil
Details: Silva was inside his girlfriend's home when two robbers stole his car parked outside with two bodyguards inside it. The robbers shot both military bodyguards, wounding one seriously in the head, and drove the car about two miles before stealing another.

1068.
Date: April 30, 2004
Victim: Supreme Court Justice David Souter
Location: Washington, D.C.
Details: Souter was jogging on the street at 9:00 p.m., when a group of young men assaulted him. Police took him to the Washington Hospital Center, where he was treated for minor injuries. No other details were released.

1069.
Date: August 7, 2005
Victim: Singer Marc Cohn
Location: Denver, Colorado
Details: Cohn was shot in the head during an attempted carjacking near the city's convention center. Cohn recovered after doctors successfully removed a bullet from his temple. He was in Denver to play a sold-out concert at the city's botanical gardens. Joseph Yachteen reportedly fired a single shot into the singer's rented van, grazing the driver (Cohn's road manager Thomas Dube) and seriously injuring Cohn after they refused to unlock the van door for the suspect. Dube and Cohn drove away from the armed suspect and were treated and released for their respective bullet wounds.

1070.
Date: October 18, 2006
Victim: Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Location: New York, New York
Details: Bloomberg's car was stolen and his assistant was punched in the face during the carjacking. Bloomberg was not in the 2001 Lexus, which was stolen while the aide was running an errand in Hackensack, New Jersey. A woman reportedly approached the window of the car and asked Bloomberg's employee for money. When he refused, a man reportedly opened the car door and began to argue. The man reportedly punched the aide in the face and wrestled him out of the car with the woman's help. The car was found about two hours later, abandoned by the side of a road. Police said they were still searching for the two suspects.

"Ah, how I'd like to kill somebody. But it must be somebody important, so it gets in the papers."

Luigi Luccheni, assassinated Empress Elizabeth of Austria, 1898

Section 3

Embarrassing Situations

Protest activity occurs somewhere in the world every day. Often, these individuals or groups target public figures at an event or at their home or office. These activities can incite ugly mobs and create potentially dangerous situations, damage property, or embarrass the protectee in the media. While some of the targeted public figures were injured in the incidents that follow, it was not the intent of the aggressors to kill or seriously injure them. Often, events simply got out of control.

Like the mob of protesters seeking attention for their cause, the pie throwers and White House fence jumpers understand the mechanics of media attention. As the acts are dutifully reported over and over, the future prankster intently watches the images unfold, and thinks, "Wow, I can do that, too!" And soon, he too is firing a cap pistol at the Pope (or perhaps a real one). What might seem bizarre to most people makes absolute sense to the attention-seeker.

Even though the perpetrators in these incidents did not intend injury, the sampling of cases does provide insight about attacker strategy, and protector response.

Section 3A: Pie Attacks and Other Thrown Objects

1071.
Date: August 16, 1977
Target: Governor James Rhodes
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Details: Rhodes was attending the Ohio State Fair when protesters shouted, "Remember Kent State!" and struck him in the face with a pie, causing an eye injury.

1072.
Date: October 14, 1977
Target: Activist/Celebrity Anita Bryant
Location: Des Moines, Iowa
Details: A gay rights activist posing as a journalist, hit Bryant in the face with a cream pie during an anti-gay rally. Bryant's image was badly damaged in the attack.

1073.
Date: November 5, 1979
Target: Mayor Ed Koch
Location: New York, New York
Details: In the middle of Koch's speech to a crowd of 3,000 people, two men and a woman jumped on stage, struck Koch with eggs, and punched him twice. They were arrested.

1074.
Date: July 18, 1980
Target: Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
Location: Cardiff, Wales
Details: Protesters bombarded Thatcher's limousine with eggs and blocked the road with their bodies. The motorcade halted for several minutes until security officers cleared the road. Earlier, police had found two IRA firebombs nearby.

1075.
Date: August 28, 1990
Target: West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl
Location: Halle, East Germany
Details: Kohl stepped up to a podium to address a crowd of 5,000 people when protesters hurled tomatoes and eggs at him. Bodyguards blocked them with umbrellas.

1076.
Date: June 3, 1991
Target: Prime Minister Chung Won-shik
Location: Seoul, South Korea
Details: Won-shik was delivering a lecture at Hankook University when dozens of militant students hurled eggs at him. He was then led to a playground, kicked, and doused in flour. Aides rescued him and they fled in a taxi.

1077.
Date: October 23, 1991
Target: Governor Pete Wilson
Location: Los Angeles, California
Details: Hundreds of protesters hurled rocks and denounced Wilson as he spoke inside a Los Angeles hotel. Two men interrupted his speech with shouts.

1078.
Date: April 1, 1992
Target: Prime Minister John Major
Location: Bath, England
Details: Major was campaigning for reelection when he was struck with eggs thrown by demonstrators.

1079.
Date: April 11, 1992
Target: President F. W. de Klerk
Location: Mitchell's Plain, South Africa
Details: Thousands of protesters drowned out de Klerk's speech at a political rally. Stones and bottles were thrown at him, but batted down by bodyguards. They evacuated him to his motorcade.

1080.
Date: October 3, 1992
Target: Emperor Akihito
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Details: A demonstrator broke through a crowd at a ceremony and threw a smoke bomb at Akihito. Bodyguards tackled the man and carried him away. There were no injuries.

1081.
Date: November 8, 1992
Target: President R. von Weizsaecker and Chancellor Helmut Kohl
Location: Berlin, Germany
Details: Weizsaecker and Kohl delivered speeches from behind plastic shields held by riot police when protesters threw rocks and eggs at them. Protesters also cut a cable, halting the speeches. Neither dignitary was injured.

1082.
Date: May 6, 1993
Target: Mayor Ray Flynn
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Details: Flynn was struck in the neck with a bottle during a disturbance at South Boston High School. Three people were arrested.

1083.
Date: October 19, 1993
Target: Queen Elizabeth II
Location: Nicosia, Cyprus
Details: Three-hundred Greek Cypriot demonstrators booed and threw coins and eggs at the queen's Rolls Royce car as she and Prince Philip drove away from a ceremony.

1084.
Date: February 23, 1994
Target: President F. W. de Klerk
Location: South Africa
Details: De Klerk was at a campaign stop when he was struck in the head with a rock. His bodyguards rushed him to safety.

1085.
Date: May 19, 1995
Target: President Fernando Cardoso
Location: Campina Grande, Brazil
Details: Hundreds of protesters surrounded Cardoso's bus during a tour and threw rocks, breaking out windows. Troopers and soldiers broke up the crowd.

1086.
Date: June 1, 1995
Target: Prince Charles
Location: Ireland
Details: While Charles was walking down a street, three IRA supporters threw eggs at him and were arrested.

1087.
Date: October 15, 1995
Target: Tipper Gore (wife of Vice President Gore)
Location: Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Details: During a tour of a health center, protesters threw rocks at Gore's motorcade.

1088.
Date: March 20, 1996
Target: U.S. Ambassador Madeleine Albright
Location: Vukovar, Croatia
Details: Serbs hurled rocks and insults at Albright's motorcade as she toured Croatia. They called her a fascist when she got out of her car.

1089.
Date: June 23, 1996
Target: Pope John Paul II
Location: Berlin, Germany
Details: Angry hecklers threw paint bags at the Pope's armored vehicle, hundreds screamed, "Go to Hell" and "Burn the Pope," and a naked woman tried to run into the path of his vehicle. About two-dozen protesters were detained.

1090.
Date: July 23, 1996
Target: President S. Ntibantunganya
Location: Bujumbura, Burundi
Details: Angry crowds pelted the president's helicopter with stones and cow dung as he tried to attend the mass funeral for 340 civilians massacred by Hutu rebels. He had been under constant threat of assassination since he took office in 1994. His predecessor died in a mysterious plane crash, and his wife was bayoneted to death in 1993. After the funeral incident, he fled to the U.S. Embassy for safety.

1091.
Date: August 8, 1996
Target: Pope John Paul II
Location: Nantes, France
Details: Throwing pies, water-filled condoms, and leaflets, a dozen protesters disrupted a Mass, hitting some priests with pies. They were protesting the Pope's upcoming visit.

1092.
Date: October 29, 1996
Target: Congress Members
Location: Caracus, Venezuela
Details: About 1,000 university students hurled firebombs and rocks at police outside Congress. They were protesting the government's austerity policies.

1093.
Date: December 5, 1996
Target: Queen Elizabeth II
Location: Manchester, Britain
Details: Two-hundred protesters surrounded the queen's car as she arrived for a function at a university. While she and Prince Philip were inside, the protesters pelted the car with eggs and pounded the windows. They were protesting cuts in education spending.

1094.
Date: January 25, 1997
Target: Deputy Prime Minister Tritan Shehu
Location: Lushnja, Albania
Details: About 10,000 protesters who had lost money in get-rich-quick schemes pelted Shehu with stones and one man hit him in the back with an iron bar. They trapped Shehu inside his office for hours and chanted threats to kill him. Riot police finally rescued him, but ten officers and many reporters were also beaten.

1095.
Date: March 23, 1997
Target: Governor Marc Racicot
Location: Gardiner, Montana
Details: A woman burst into a meeting and splashed a bucket of rotting bison entrails on Racicot, Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, and two U.S. Senators. She was protesting the killing of more than 1,000 bison near Yellowstone National Park. She was removed and handed over to deputies.

1096.
Date: April 12, 1997
Target: Prime Minister John Major
Location: London, England
Details: Five hundred demonstrators, marching in support of fired dockworkers, threw bottles, paint, and orange smoke bombs at police guarding the entrance to 10 Downing Street. Two were arrested. Major was away on business.

1097.
Date May 30, 1997
Target: Presidential Candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen
Location: Mantes-La-Jolie, France
Details: Far-right leader Le Pen became involved in a 40 minute shoving match with about 30 hecklers while campaigning. He was led into a cafe for safety, but the hecklers rained eggs and rocks on it. Police escorted him to a car that took him away.

1098.
Date: November 11, 1997
Target: Fashion Designer Oscar de la Renta
Location: Tigard, Oregon
Details: A woman smashed a tofu cream pie in de la Renta's face as he signed autographs. She shouted, "Shame on you for using fur!" as security guards surrounded her. She was arrested.

1099.
Date: February 4, 1998
Target: Microsoft CEO Bill Gates
Location: Brussels, Belgium
Details: As he entered a building to meet with computer industry and government leaders, Gates was struck in the face with three cream pies from different directions. The three pie throwers were members of a group that "pies" famous people. Their previous targets included filmmaker Bernard-Henri Levy and actress Brigitte Bardot. Two were detained and released, the third escaped.

1100.
Date: February 12, 1998
Target: Proctor & Gamble CEO John Pepper
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Details: A woman walked onto the stage where Pepper was receiving an award from Ohio Governor Voinovich. She pushed a tofu cream pie into Pepper's face, and shouted, "P & G poisons animals! Shame on you!" She was arrested.