Presidential Assassination Attempts after 1877

  • James A. Garfield (Successful)

    James A. Garfield (Successful)
    20th President James A. Garfield was shot point-blank by Charles J. Guiteau twice with the first grazing his shoulder and the second hitting him in the back at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station In Washington D.C.. He died two and a half months later in bed on September 19th of the same year.
  • William McKinley (Successful)

    William McKinley (Successful)
    25th President William McKinley was shot in the abdomen at the Pan-American Exposition in the Temple of Music in Buffalo, New York by Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist. He died 8 days later on the 14th of gangrene.
  • Theodore Roosevelt (Wounded)

    Theodore Roosevelt (Wounded)
    Former 26th President Theodore Roosevelt was shot in the chest by John Schrank while campaigning for a third presidential term in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The bullet was largely slowed due to having to pass through a glasses case and 50-page speech in Roosevelt's jacket pocket, and Roosevelt carried the bullet in his chest until the day he died.
  • William Howard Taft (Unsuccessful)

    William Howard Taft (Unsuccessful)
    During a summit between 27th President William Howard Taft and Mexican President Porfirio Díaz in El Paso, Texas, Julius Bergerson was disarmed by a scout and a Texas Ranger only a few meters from Taft and Díaz at the El Paso Chamber of Commerce, which was along the two presidents' procession route.
  • Herbert Hoover (Unsuccessful)

    Herbert Hoover (Unsuccessful)
    During 31st President-elect Herbert Hoover's "goodwill tour" of Central and South America, a group of Argentine anarchists led by Severino Di Giovanni had plans to blow up Hoover's train as it crossed the Argentinian central plain. However, the bomber was arrested before he could place explosives on the rails.
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt (Unsuccessful)

    Franklin D. Roosevelt (Unsuccessful)
    32nd President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt was fired at five times in Miami, Florida. All five shots missed, but mortally wounded Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak and injured four others. The shooter was Giuseppe Zangara. Some theorize that his target was actually Cermak and not Roosevelt.
  • Harry S. Truman (Unsuccessful)

    Harry S. Truman (Unsuccessful)
    In Washington D.C., Puerto Rican pro-independence activists Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola attempted to kill 33rd President Harry S. Truman in the Blair House, where he was staying due to renovations in the White House. Torresola wounded White House policemen Leslie Coffelt (mortally) and Joseph Downs. Coffelt shot and killed Torresola while Collazo wounded an officer and was then shot in the stomach, surviving with serious injuries.
  • John F. Kennedy (Unsuccessful)

    John F. Kennedy (Unsuccessful)
    While 35th President-elect John F. Kennedy was on vacation in Palm Beach, Florida, Richard Paul Pavlick, who hated Catholics, had planned to crash his car filled with dynamite into Kennedy's vehicle, but decided to postpone his attack after seeing that Kennedy was with his wife and daughter. 4 days later, Pavlick was pulled over for a driving violation, and the police found the dynamite in his car.
  • John F. Kennedy (Successful)

    John F. Kennedy (Successful)
    John F. Kennedy was shot twice in Dallas, Texas during a presidential motorcade at Dealey Plaza by former U.S. Marine Lee Harvey Oswald, first in the back, and second in the head. At the time, he was in the limousine with his wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Governor of Texas John Connally.
  • Richard Nixon (Unsuccessful)

    Richard Nixon (Unsuccessful)
    During 37th President Richard Nixon's motorcade in Ottawa, Canada, Arthur Bremer intended to shoot him, but decided not to because Nixon's car had gone too fast for an accurate shot. He shot and paralyzed Alabama segregationist governor George Wallace 1 month later.
  • Richard Nixon (Unsuccessful)

    Richard Nixon (Unsuccessful)
    At Baltimore-Washington International Airport, Samuel Byck hijacked a plane after killing an Maryland Aviation Administration officer, intending to crash it into the White House to kill 37th President Richard Nixon. He was unable to lift it from the ground because the wheel blocks were still in place. He shot both pilots, killing one, and was eventually shot through the plane's window by Officer Charles Troyer, but survived and committed suicide via gunshot.
  • Gerald Ford (Unsuccessful)

    Gerald Ford (Unsuccessful)
    At the California State Capitol in Sacramento, California, Charles Manson follower Lynette Fromme, pulled out a gun and pointed it at 38th President Gerald Ford when he attempted to shake her hand. The gun had no bullets in the chamber, and Fromme was quickly subdued and taken into custody.
  • Gerald Ford (Unsuccessful)

    Gerald Ford (Unsuccessful)
    In San Francisco, California, 38th President Gerald Ford was fired at by Sara Jane Moore. Bystander Oliver Sipple grabbed Moore's arm before she pulled the trigger, and the shot missed, injuring taxi driver John Ludwig.
  • Ronald Reagan (Wounded)

    Ronald Reagan (Wounded)
    40th President Ronald Reagan was shot at by John Hinckley Jr. at the Washington Hilton in Washington D.C.. A bullet ricocheted through his limousine door punctured his lung, but he survived. His Press Secretary, James Brady, however, was fatally wounded.
  • Bill Clinton (Unsuccessful)

    Bill Clinton (Unsuccessful)
    Retired veteran Ronald Gene Barbour attempted for several days in a row to shoot and kill 42nd President Bill Clinton while he was jogging in the Washington D.C. National Mall. At the time, Clinton was in Russia, so he was unable to fulfill his plot. Barbour was apprehended in the lobby of a Veteran's Affairs Medical Center where was seeking psychiatric treatment.
  • Bill Clinton (Unsuccessful)

    Bill Clinton (Unsuccessful)
    Francisco Martin Duran fired several times at the White House from a fence, assuming that Bill Clinton was among a group of men in suits on the lawn. In reality, Clinton was inside the building. Tourists Harry Rokosky, Ken Davis, and Robert Haines tackled Duran before anyone could be injured.
  • Bill Clinton (Unsuccessful)

    Bill Clinton (Unsuccessful)
    During his visit to the Asia-Pacific Economic Corporation in Manila, Philippines, 42nd President Bill Clinton's motorcade was rerouted due to an intercepted message telling of an attack. A bomb was later found under a bridge on the original motorcade route. The plot was orchestrated by Osama Bin Laden of Al-Qaeda
  • George W. Bush (Unsuccessful)

    George W. Bush (Unsuccessful)
    Vladimir Arutyunian threw a live grenade at 43rd President George W. Bush's podium while he was giving a speech in Tbilisi, Georgia. The grenade failed to explode because it had a red handkerchief tightly wrapped around it that prevented the safety lever from releasing. He fled the scene and a day later, was arrested and killed a Georgia Interior Ministry agent during the arrest.
  • Barack Obama (Unsuccessful)

    Barack Obama (Unsuccessful)
    Influenced by radical views and conspiracy theories, Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez fired at the White House several times in an attempt to kill 44th President Barack Obama, injuring no one and breaking a window.
  • Donald Trump (Wounded)

    Donald Trump (Wounded)
    During a rally near Butler, Pennsylvania, former 45th President and later 47th President Donald Trump was shot at 8 times by Thomas Matthew Crooks, hitting Trump in his right ear, killing audience member Corey Comperatore, and critically injuring 2 others. Crooks was shot and killed by the Secret Service's counter-sniper team