Just 2 Seconds (44 page)

439.
Date: September 22, 1975
Target: President Gerald Ford
Location: San Francisco, California
Details: Ford returned to California for an official visit. Sara Jane Moore stood among the 3,000 spectators to get a glimpse of him. As he emerged from the St. Francis Hotel, Moore pulled out a Smith & Wesson .38 revolver and fired one shot, which narrowly missed Ford, ricocheted and struck a taxi driver in the crowd. Moore was grabbed by other spectators and disarmed, and was unable to fire more rounds. Ford was shoved into his limousine and taken to the airport. Moore was released from prison in 2007.
(2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)

440.
Date: 1976
Target: Greek Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit
Location: New York, New York
Details: During a stay at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, an assailant fired one shot at Ecevit that did not hit him. The attempted assassin was a member of a Greek Cypriot terrorist group who had obtained a job as the cashier of the hotel. When tackled by a State Department bodyguard, the assailant's prosthetic arm came off in the protector's hands.
(4-STARS: Protector action during the attack entirely prevented injury.)

441.
Date: November 28, 1979
Target: Senator Edward Kennedy
Location: Washington, D.C.
Details: A woman burst into Kennedy's office, shouting incoherently and pulling out a knife. A Secret Service agent assigned to Kennedy disarmed her, and was wounded during the incident.
(2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)

442.
Date: June 2, 1980
Target: Mayor Richard Berkley
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Details: A man entered Berkley's office and became violent. He attacked Berkley's bodyguard with a pair of scissors, wounding him slightly.
(2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)

443.
Date: November 7, 1983
Target: Members of Congress
Location: Washington, D.C.
Details: Shortly before 11 p.m., a bomb exploded outside one of the Capitol Building's cloakrooms close to the Senate chamber. There were no injuries.

444.
Date: March 15, 1984
Target: President Ronald Reagan
Location: Washington, D.C.
Details: David Allen Mahonski had been under FBI surveillance for making threats against Reagan. Mahonski was noticed in front of the south grounds of the White House by security agents who then approached him. He pulled a sawed-off shotgun from beneath his coat, and one of the agents shot him in the arm. He was subsequently arrested, arraigned on March 16, and scheduled for a psychiatric evaluation, which later detected "emotional problems." He had been warned to stay away from the White House by Secret Service officers in the months leading up to the shooting.
(2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)

445.
Date: December 28, 1991
Target: Governor Pete Wilson
Location: Sacramento, California
Details: A member of Wilson's staff opened a box in the mailroom and found it contained a bomb. EOD personnel defused it. There were rocks in the box for shrapnel.

446.
Date: May 18, 1994
Target: ABC President Robert Iger
Location: New York, New York
Details: An explosive device was delivered to Iger's office. An incendiary event occurred when an assistant opened the bomb, but the full explosion did not occur. Another bomb sent to Iger exploded while
en route
to an office in Los Angeles.

447.
Date: June 14, 1994
Target: Judge Brian Silverman
Location: Alliance, Nebraska
Details: When a defendant in Silverman's courtroom pulled a .22 pistol out of his manila folder, a deputy disarmed him before he could fire a shot. He had just been sentenced to prison.
(4-STARS: Protector action during the attack entirely prevented injury.)

448.
Date: September 12, 1994
Target: President Bill Clinton
Location: Washington, D.C.
Details: Frank Corder crashed a stolen Cessna 150 airplane into the south side of the White House, killing himself. The Clintons were staying in the Blair House and were not injured.

449.
Date: October 3, 1994
Target: Governor Tommy Thompson
Location: Madison, Wisconsin
Details: A pipe bomb exploded outside Thompson's campaign office knocking out windows but causing no injuries.

450.
Date: October 29, 1994
Target: President Bill Clinton
Location: Washington, D.C.
Details: Francisco Duran pulled a Norinco SKS-style rifle from under his trench coat and fired 27 rounds at the White House. When he tried to reload, two bystanders tackled and held him until officers arrived. Police found a map in his car with the words "kill the Prez" written on it, as well as a Mossberg shotgun. On August 23, Duran had called Senator Ben Campbell's office in Colorado and threatened to "go to Washington and take someone out."
(2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)

451.
Date: November 14, 1995
Victim: Mayor John Logie
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Details: Two shots were fired through the window of Logie's house, but there were no injuries. Police investigated a man upset over plans to raze his neighborhood.

452.
Date: September 24, 1997
Target: City Alderman Donny Ray Mason
Location: Overland, Missouri
Details: Three shots, probably from a .22, were fired into the front door of Mason's home as he was arriving home late at night. He was not injured and didn't see the gunman. He has been feuding with the city mayor.

453.
Date: July 24, 1998
Target: Members of Congress
Location: Washington, DC
Details: A mentally ill man named Russell Weston shot his way into the Capitol Building, killing two Capitol policemen. The second officer returned fire, wounding and stopping Weston. Only a door separated Congressman Tom Delay from the incident.
(4-STARS: Protector action during the attack entirely prevented injury.)

454.
Date: February 7, 2001
Target: President George W. Bush
Location: Washington, D.C.
Details: Former IRS employee Robert Pickett fired two shots from a .38 revolver at the south side of the White House. Uniformed Secret Service agents confronted him and attempted to negotiate his surrender. When he waived the gun around, an agent shot him in the leg and took him into custody. Pickett had a grievance against his IRS bosses. He had been hospitalized five times by psychiatrists since August 1986, including twice for attempted suicide by drug overdose. He had left a suicide note in his car. Bush was inside the White House, but in no danger.
(2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)