{"id":14885,"date":"2016-06-06T16:34:03","date_gmt":"2016-06-06T20:34:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=14885"},"modified":"2025-06-05T09:41:04","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T13:41:04","slug":"robert-f-kennedy-dies-after-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/robert-f-kennedy-dies-after-shooting.html","title":{"rendered":"Robert F. Kennedy Dies after Shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Only 4\u00bd years after his brother, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated \u2013 and just two months after civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., had been gunned down \u2013 America awoke on 5 June 1968 to read the horrifying news that another of the nation\u2019s young leaders had been attacked: Senator Robert F. Kennedy. He was shot three times by a Jordanian, Sirhan Sirhan, in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles right after giving a victory speech in the California Democratic presidential primary. Five others were wounded as well.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: Robert F. Kennedy, 19 August 1964. Credit: Library of Congress; Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kennedy had only entered the presidential primary in March, but was rapidly gaining momentum. Winning the California Democratic primary over his rival Senator Eugene J. McCarthy on June 4, Kennedy gave his victory speech to a gathering of about 2,000 buoyant supporters in the hotel\u2019s ballroom. He ended his speech shortly after midnight and headed for the hotel\u2019s kitchen, a shortcut to get to a press conference. At 12:15 a.m. on June 5 Sirhan struck and Kennedy fell to the floor, shot three times, bleeding and mortally wounded.<\/p>\n

He clung to life for 26 difficult hours, but died early in the morning of June 6. He was 42 years old. America had lost another leader, felled by an assassin. Sirhan later said he was angry over Kennedy\u2019s support for Israel.<\/p>\n

Americans opened their daily newspapers on 5 June 1968 and saw the shocking news. This Seattle newspaper dedicated its entire front page to Kennedy\u2019s shooting.<\/p>\n

\"Front<\/a>
Seattle Daily Times (Seattle, Washington), 5 June 1968, page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That front page included these chilling photos.<\/p>\n

\"Photos<\/a>
Seattle Daily Times (Seattle, Washington), 5 June 1968, page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here is a transcription of the four articles that appeared on that front page.<\/p>\n

Robert Kennedy\u2019s Condition Remains Extremely Critical<\/strong><\/p>\n

Associated Press and United Press International<\/p>\n

Los Angeles \u2013 Senator Robert F. Kennedy emerged from more than three hours of surgery in extremely \u201ccritical condition\u201d today after he was shot in the head by a mysteriously silent gunman early this morning. The shooting occurred after he had won the California Democratic presidential primary.<\/p>\n

The gunman was identified at midmorning as Sirhan Sirhan, 23, a Jordanian born in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

Kennedy was shot down about 4\u00bd years after his brother, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated by a rifleman in Dallas, Tex.<\/p>\n

An aide said all but a fragment of a bullet was removed from Kennedy\u2019s brain and a second bullet, less serious, remains in the back of his neck.<\/p>\n

Vital signs \u2013 pulse and breathing \u2013 are in good order, Frank Mankiewicz, Kennedy\u2019s press secretary, told newsmen, but the next 24 to 36 hours will be critical. He said there \u201cmay have been some impairment of the blood supply to the center of the brain\u201d \u2013 which controls pulse, blood pressure and tracking of the eye \u2013 but \u201cnot the thinking processes.\u201d<\/p>\n

A series of tests conducted on the senator \u201cdo not show measurable improvement\u201d in his condition, which remains extremely critical, Mankiewicz reported at 2:15 p.m.<\/p>\n

Mayor Samuel Yorty said identification of the gunman was made by the suspect\u2019s brother, Adel Sirhan of Pasadena, who was traced through the death weapon.<\/p>\n

The 42-year-old New York senator came from behind in California\u2019s crucial primary to accrue a winning lead over Senator Eugene J. McCarthy around midnight. Kennedy had proclaimed his win to about 2,000 supporters at an Ambassador Hotel rally and was taking a shortcut through the kitchen to a meeting with newsmen when shots rang out.<\/p>\n

With stunning rapidity at 12:15 a.m., a man police described as a Caucasian, 5 feet 6 inches and 140 pounds, with dark hair and complexion, emptied the chamber of an eight-shot .22-caliber pistol.<\/p>\n

Kennedy fell, hit three times. Five others near him were wounded, none as badly as Kennedy.<\/p>\n

Pandemonium broke loose. Roosevelt Grier, giant Negro tackle for the professional Los Angeles Rams, quickly grabbed the much smaller gunman, wrestled the gun from him and held him for police.<\/p>\n

The man under arrest was arraigned secretly at 7 a.m. as John Doe and bail was set at $250,000. The arraignment was on six accounts of assault with intent to commit murder.<\/p>\n

Police Chief Thomas Reddin said the man remained silent for hours, then broke that silence and proved to be \u201cextremely articulate with an extensive vocabulary,\u201d but he refused to identify himself or discuss the shooting.<\/p>\n

Kennedy was taken first to Central Receiving Hospital, where a doctor said he was \u201cpractically dead\u201d upon arrival.<\/p>\n

Physicians there administered closed cardiac massage, oxygen and adrenalin. \u201cAt first he was pulseless,\u201d a doctor who treated him said, \u201cthen his pulse came back and we began to hear a heartbeat and he began to breathe \u2013 a little erratically.\u201d<\/p>\n

The doctor, Victor Baz, said Ethel Kennedy, who accompanied her husband in the ambulance, was frightened. \u201cShe didn\u2019t believe he was alive because she couldn\u2019t see that he was responding. I put the stethoscope to her ears so she could listen and she was tremendously relieved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kennedy was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital near downtown Los Angeles. There a team of six surgeons began brain surgery at 3:12 a.m. that lasted about 3 hours and 40 minutes.<\/p>\n

Doctors said one bullet struck near the right ear and entered the brain. Another hit in the shoulder. A third apparently grazed his forehead.<\/p>\n

The actual surgery here was performed by Drs. Maxwell Ambler of the University of California at Los Angeles Medical School and Nat Downes Reid and Henry Cuneo of the University of Southern California Medical School.<\/p>\n

Kennedy\u2019s brother, Edward, senator from Massachusetts, flew here from San Francisco and was taken by helicopter to Good Samaritan.<\/p>\n

Wounds were suffered by Paul Schrade, 30, United Auto Workers official; William Weisel, 30, unit manager for the American Broadcasting Co.; Ira Goldstein, 19, a radio newsman; Irwin Stroll, 17; and Mrs. Elizabeth Evans. All but Weisel, of Washington, D.C., are from the Los Angeles area.<\/p>\n

The gunman appeared in the kitchen area behind the bandstand of the Embassy Room, where Kennedy backers, including movie stars and students, were listening to their candidate\u2019s light-hearted victory speech.<\/p>\n

Kennedy finished his speech and began working his way off the platform and into the kitchen, followed by close associates and members of his family.<\/p>\n

At that moment the gunman pushed through the throng, reached his arm around others in front of him and shot the senator.<\/p>\n

Grier, the football player, grabbed the man\u2019s arm. Joe LaHive, a local Kennedy campaigner, wrested the gun away. Grier and a former Olympic decathlon champion, Rafer Johnson, lifted the assailant and spread him on a steel kitchen table.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody hurt this man!\u201d one of the athletes shouted. \u201cWe want to take him alive!\u201d<\/p>\n

Women were screaming, \u201cOh no!\u201d \u201cGod, God, not again!\u201d<\/p>\n

Kennedy was stretched on the floor, his face covered with blood. \u201cGive him room! Step back!\u201d someone yelled.<\/p>\n

Kennedy seemed to hear nothing. His face was blank, his eyes staring sightlessly.<\/p>\n

Grier, Johnson and two or three others held the gunman on the table 10 feet away. Screams began to be heard in the ballroom as news of the shooting spread to the campaigners, who had been cheering their candidate two minutes before.<\/p>\n

Kennedy was given emergency treatment by a doctor summoned from the ballroom.<\/p>\n

The gunman, apparently unharmed, was rushed through the Ambassador lobby by police 10 minutes after the shooting. By this time the crowd knew that Kennedy had been shot.<\/p>\n

\u201cKill him! Lynch him!\u201d onlookers shouted. They milled forward to get at the man, but the police ran him down the stairs and got him to the central jail.<\/p>\n

\u2018Might Not Make It,\u2019 Says Doctor<\/strong><\/p>\n

New York (UPI) \u2013 Senator Robert F. Kennedy \u201cmight not make it,\u201d according to one of the three surgeons who operated on him.<\/p>\n

Dr. Henry Cuneo said that even if Kennedy lives, he may suffer extensive brain damage.<\/p>\n

Dr. Cuneo gave his opinion to Dr. Lawrence Pool, director and professor of neurosurgery at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, who reported it on a newscast.<\/p>\n

Dr. Cuneo told Dr. Pool that several major arteries were severed and Kennedy\u2019s brain suffered extensive loss of blood and oxygen as well as several blood clots.<\/p>\n

In summation, Dr. Cuneo informed Dr. Pool that it is unlikely Kennedy \u201cwill be able to recover fully\u2026and\u2026doubtful that he could live.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018No Words\u2026\u2019 Says President<\/strong><\/p>\n

Washington (AP) \u2013 President Johnson issued this statement today on the shooting of Senator Robert F. Kennedy: \u201cThere are no words equal to the horror of this tragedy. Our thoughts and our prayers are with Senator Kennedy, his family, and the other victims.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll America prays for his recovery. We also pray that divisiveness and violence be driven from the hearts of men everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the President\u2019s first actions was to order the Secret Service to assign a protective detail to each major candidate, borrowing from other federal law enforcement agencies as needed.<\/p>\n

Shooting Suspect Identified<\/strong><\/p>\n

Associated Press and United Press International<\/p>\n

Los Angeles \u2013 Police today identified the man who shot Senator Robert F. Kennedy and five other persons as Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, 23, who has a brother who lives in nearby Pasadena.<\/p>\n

Mayor Sam Yorty and Police Chief Tom Reddin told a news conference that Sirhan was traced through the .22-caliber pistol used to wound Kennedy and the five others.<\/p>\n

Yorty said Sirhan was born in the former Jordanian part of Jerusalem. Kennedy had made several campaign appearances before Hebrew congregations in California. He called for Arab recognition of Israel and an end to Jordanian aggression against the Jewish state.<\/p>\n

Sirhan was identified by his brother, Adel Sirhan, with whom he lived. Yorty said the pistol used in the assassination attempt was owned by another brother, Munier (Joe) Sirhan. The latter told officers he had no idea how his brother got the weapon.<\/p>\n

Yorty said the brothers recently came to the United States from Jerusalem. Yorty said the suspect had four $100 bills in his possession and a newspaper clipping critical of Kennedy.<\/p>\n

In San Francisco, Attorney General Thomas Lynch said the weapon was a .22-caliber, eight shot, Iver Johnson Cade with a 2\u00bd-inch barrel. The pistol fires .22 long shells, which have a harder impact than short bullets.<\/p>\n

The suspect attended high school in Pasadena, where his fingerprints were taken when he applied for a state job.<\/p>\n

The suspect was \u201cvery cool, very calm, very stable and quite lucid\u201d under a drumfire of questioning, Reddin reported.<\/p>\n

During \u201ca number of lengthy conversations,\u201d he talked freely and with interest \u2013 until asked who he was and anything about Kennedy, Reddin told a news conference.<\/p>\n

Anytime the questioning got around to the shooting of Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel, the man would say, \u201cI prefer to remain incommunicado.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reddin said the gunman carried a few scraps of paper but had no identification. \u201cWe have advised him of his legal rights,\u201d the chief reported. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t want a lawyer now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey), 6 June 1968, page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here is a transcription of this front-page article reporting Kennedy\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

Kennedy Dead from Wounds<\/strong><\/p>\n

President Calls for Day of Mourning Sunday<\/strong><\/p>\n

Body to Be Flown to N.Y.C. Today<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Walter R. Mears and Joseph E. Mohbat, Associated Press Writers<\/p>\n

Los Angeles \u2013 Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, felled like his President brother by an assassin\u2019s bullet, died early today.<\/p>\n

His mourning family prepared to take his body home to New York, across the nation Kennedy had hoped to lead as President.<\/p>\n

And on Saturday, the senator is to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, probably at the hilltop plot which is the resting place of his brother, the late John F. Kennedy.<\/p>\n

Robert Kennedy, 42, never regained consciousness, never showed signs of recovery after a savage burst of revolver fire sent a bullet plunging into his brain \u2013 \u00a0at the pinnacle of his own campaign for the White House.<\/p>\n

Kennedy, his pregnant wife Ethel at his bedside, died at 1:44 PDT, little more than 25 hours after the assault at the Ambassador Hotel.<\/p>\n

Kennedy\u2019s body was to be flown from Los Angeles to New York later today on a jet airplane provided by the White House.<\/p>\n

Pierre Salinger, former presidential press secretary, said the body would lie in state Friday at St. Patrick\u2019s Cathedral in New York City.<\/p>\n

A requiem mass will be held there Saturday morning. Salinger said Kennedy would be buried late Saturday in Arlington, across the Potomac River from Washington, where an eternal flame flickers in memory of John Kennedy, slain four years and seven months ago.<\/p>\n

Day of Mourning<\/p>\n

In preparation for Kennedy\u2019s last journey, a post mortem was underway at Good Samaritan Hospital in downtown Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

President Johnson, the man who succeeded President Kennedy, issued a proclamation calling for a national day of mourning for the senator next Sunday.<\/p>\n

Gov. Ronald Reagan declared a state of mourning in California, for the period through the senator\u2019s funeral.<\/p>\n

As Kennedy died, the man accused of shooting him was under heavy guard at a downtown prison hospital, held in $250,000 bail for a court appearance which had been scheduled Monday.<\/p>\n

Sirhan Bishara Sirhan was accused of wielding the .22-caliber revolver which cut down Kennedy and wounded five other people early Wednesday as the senator and his supporters celebrated victory in the California presidential primary.<\/p>\n

Asst. Dist. Atty. William L. Ritzi said his office would ask the Los Angeles County Grand Jury to indict Sirhan on a charge of murder.<\/p>\n

The Los Angeles sheriff\u2019s office refused to say whether Sirhan had been advised that Kennedy was dead.<\/p>\n

Sirhan, a Jordanian who had been living in Pasadena, was described by those who knew him as a man inflamed over the hostilities between his native state and Israel. A former employer said he might have been enraged by Kennedy\u2019s past words of support for Israel.<\/p>\n

Kennedy\u2019s mother, Mrs. Rose Kennedy, was told of the death of her son by a niece, Ann Gargan. She was at Hyannis Port, Mass. Mrs. Kennedy \u2013 \u00a0who had campaigned for Robert in the presidential primaries \u2013 \u00a0went to mass at St. Francis Xavier Church.<\/p>\n

The senator\u2019s father, Ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy, was not awakened immediately to be told of the death.<\/p>\n

Mrs. Kennedy had talked by telephone with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., the family\u2019s lone surviving son, who was at Robert\u2019s bedside at the end.<\/p>\n

Kennedy was surrounded by members of his family when he died.<\/p>\n

Salinger said Ethel, the widow, \u201cis bearing up very well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mrs. John F. Kennedy, widow of the assassinated President, was in her brother-in-law\u2019s room when he died.<\/p>\n

Children Nearby<\/p>\n

Two of Kennedy\u2019s sisters, Mrs. Stephen Smith and Mrs. Patricia Lawford, were there, too.<\/p>\n

Salinger said three of Kennedy\u2019s 10 children were in an adjacent room and saw their father before he died.<\/p>\n

Pale and haggard, Frank Mankiewicz, Kennedy\u2019s press secretary, announced the death to newsmen.<\/p>\n

\u201cSen. Robert Francis Kennedy died at 1:44 a.m. today,\u201d he began.<\/p>\n

Then he answered questions. What was the specific cause of death?<\/p>\n

Mankiewicz looked up numbly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe gunfire attack,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said \u201cthe bullet that went into the head near the right ear\u201d was the fatal shot. It entered Kennedy\u2019s brain. Surgeons operated for three hours and 40 minutes to remove all but a fragment in a vain attempt to save the senator\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

But Kennedy never rallied.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was not a question of his sinking,\u201d Mankiewicz said, \u201cbut of not rising. He needed a rally and steady improvement in his condition, and that did not develop.\u201d<\/p>\n

Salinger announced the body was to be taken from Los Angeles between 10 and 11 a.m. PDT. He said the family, friends and some staff members were to be aboard.<\/p>\n

Among them, he said, would be Mrs. Martin Luther King Jr., whose husband fell prey to an assassin on April 4.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Seattle Daily Times (Seattle, Washington), 6 June 1968, page 12<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here is a transcription of this editorial.<\/p>\n

Robert Francis Kennedy<\/strong><\/p>\n

The death of Robert Francis Kennedy is an occasion for both profound sympathy for the Kennedy family, which has had immeasurably more than its share of personal tragedy, and for deep sorrow in the nation as a whole, which reels once more under the shock of an act of mindless violence.<\/p>\n

It is, of course, an incredible irony that the end of Senator Kennedy\u2019s life should occur in the same fashion as that of his brother, the late President.<\/p>\n

The events in Dallas five years ago and again in Los Angeles leave the country with the same mixture of shame, anger and bewilderment that tore at the hearts and minds of all Americans after the murder of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King only two months ago.<\/p>\n

Whatever else might be said of Robert Kennedy, he was a man of remarkable fortitude \u2013 whether choosing to forge ahead in public life despite the shock of his brother\u2019s assassination, gasping his way to the summit of a 14,000-foot peak in the Yukon Territory, named for John F. Kennedy, or choosing to do battle in the courts with Jimmy Hoffa.<\/p>\n

Although his popularity in recent years was subject to sharp peaks and valleys in the public-opinion polls, Senator Kennedy\u2019s contributions to political thought on such subjects as the Vietnam war and domestic programs involving minority groups were significant and attracted large and enthusiastic followings. His personal wit and charm often helped to sustain his popularity when his political views aroused widespread opposition.<\/p>\n

Despite his controversial views and actions, Robert Kennedy believed implicitly that he possessed the qualities of leadership that caused many to regard him as the \u201cheir apparent\u201d to John F. Kennedy.<\/p>\n

It was in what proved to be the senator\u2019s last speech, in fact, that Robert Kennedy expressed his conviction that, as President, he could end the divisive influences abroad in the country today.<\/p>\n

Even his most bitter foes will share in the sense of loss that accompanies the death of a young man who had become a commanding figure upon the American political scene.<\/p>\n

Learn more about Robert F. Kennedy\u2019s life, political career and assassination in GenealogyBank\u2019s newspaper archives: http:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/gbnk\/?fname=robert+f.&lname=kennedy<\/a><\/p>\n

RFK Family Tree Chart<\/a><\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> An online collection of newspapers, such as GenealogyBank\u2019s Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a>, is not only a great way to learn about the lives of your ancestors \u2013 the old newspaper articles also help you understand American history and the times your ancestors lived in, and the news they talked about and read in their local papers. Do you have memories of the assassination of Robert Kennedy? Please share your stories with us in the comments.<\/p>\n

Explore over 330 years of newspapers and historical records in GenealogyBank. Discover your family story! Start a 7-Day Free Trial<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An article about the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy on 5-6 June 1968.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14901,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12235],"tags":[6713,6720,12123,9733],"class_list":["post-14885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","tag-american-history","tag-assassinations","tag-politics-politicians","tag-robert-f-kennedy"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/photo-0606-2016-robert-kennedy-giving-a-speech.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14885"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14885\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":103047,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14885\/revisions\/103047"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}