Laurel Shopping Center shooting

On May 15, 1972, a mass shooting occurred at the Laurel Shopping Center in Laurel, Maryland, United States. An elementary school janitor, 21-year-old Arthur Bremer, attempted to assassinate Alabama Governor and Democratic Presidential candidate George Wallace. He shot Wallace four times and unintentionally hit three other people before being subdued. He was sentenced to sixty-three years in prison but was released in late 2007.

Shooting
Governor George Corley Wallace Jr. was shaking hands with supporters of his after speaking at a second rally for his Presidential campaign at the shopping center. At 4:00 P.M., 21-year-old Arthur Bremer pushed his way through a large crowd to reach Wallace. When in range, Bremer completely unloaded his pistol, injuring Governor Wallace with four shots. Three others were shot by Bremer despite the fact he was only aiming for Wallace. The failed assassin was then wrestled to the ground and arrested. A 9mm 13-shot Browning Hi-Power semi-automatic pistol was found in Bremer's car.

Victims
In total, no one was killed during the shooting. Governor Wallace had a bullet caught in his spinal cord while the other three struck him in the chest and abdomen. Alabama State Trooper Captain and Wallace's body guard, 41-year-old E.C. Dothard, was shot in the stomach. Campaign volunteer Dora Thompson was shot in the leg while Secret Service agent Nicholas Zarvos was shot in the neck, impairing his speech abilities.

Perpetrator
Arthur Bremer, 21, originally planned to assassinate then-president Richard M. Nixon, however he realized he would never be able to get near the President. Bremer had previously worked as a janitor for an elementary school but quit a few months before the shooting. He was sentenced to sixty-three years in prison however after an appeal, it was slimmed down to fifty-three years. Thirty-five years after the shooting, on November 9, 2007, Bremer was released from prison.

Reactions
Almost immediately after the news of the shooting broke, President Nixon instructed Charles Wendell Colson, one the President's aides, to spread false rumors that Arthur Bremer was a staunch supporter of South Dakota Senator George McGovern and former President John F. Kennedy. He did this in order to create a bad name for the Democratic party, which he was running against in the current election. In later years, Wallace (now paralyzed from the waist down) stated he forgave Bremer and wrote a letter to him in 1995. Bremer never responded to the letter and Governor Wallace died a few years later on September 13, 1998.