1954 United States Capitol shooting
The United States Capitol shooting incident of 1954 was an attack on March 1, 1954, by four Puerto Rican nationalists; they shot 30 rounds from semi-automatic pistols from the Ladies' Gallery (a balcony for visitors) of the House of Representatives chamber[broken anchor] in the United States Capitol. They did this to support Puerto Rican independence from American rule.
| 1954 U.S. Capitol shooting incident | |
|---|---|
| Location | Washington, D.C. |
| Date | March 1, 1954 |
| Target | United States Capitol (chamber of the House of Representatives) |
Attack type | Shooting |
| Weapons | Semi-automatic pistols: Walther P38 9mm, Luger P08 9mm, Artillery Luger 9mm.[1] |
| Deaths | 0 |
Injured | 5 (Alvin M. Bentley, Clifford Davis, Ben F. Jensen, George Hyde Fallon, and Kenneth A. Roberts) |
| Perpetrators | Lolita Lebrón, Rafael Cancel Miranda, Andrés Figueroa Cordero, and Irvin Flores Rodríguez |
| Motive | Puerto Rican independence movement |
The people responsible for the attack were Lolita Lebrón, Rafael Cancel Miranda, Andres Figueroa Cordero, and Irvin Flores Rodríguez.
The shooting began at Representatives in the 83rd Congress, who were debating an immigration bill. Five Representatives were wounded, one seriously, but all recovered. The assailants were arrested, tried and convicted in federal court, and given long sentences. In 1978 and 1979, they were pardoned by President Jimmy Carter; all four returned to Puerto Rico.