Chapman planned the murder over several months. Earlier in the day, he had met Lennon, who signed his copy of the albumDouble Fantasy as Lennon and his wife,Yoko Ono, were leaving for a recording session at theRecord Plant. Later that night when the couple returned home, Chapman, still waiting at the building's entrance, fired fivehollow-point bullets from a.38 Specialrevolver, four of which hit Lennon in the back. Lennon was rushed toRoosevelt Hospital in a police car, where he was pronounced dead on arrival at 11:15 p.m. Chapman remained at the scene of the shooting readingThe Catcher in the Rye until he was arrested by police.
The murder triggered a global outpouring of grief, with crowds gathering at Roosevelt Hospital and outside the Dakota, and tributes held worldwide.[3] The day after the murder, Lennon was cremated atFerncliff Cemetery inHartsdale, New York. In lieu of a funeral, Ono requested 10 minutes of silence around the world on 14 December. Chapman pleaded guilty to murdering Lennon and was given a sentence of 20 years tolife imprisonment; he has been deniedparole multiple times after becoming eligible in 2000.
Mark David Chapman, a 25-year-old former security guard from Honolulu, Hawaii, with no prior criminal convictions, was a fan ofthe Beatles.[4]J. D. Salinger's novelThe Catcher in the Rye (1951) had taken on great personal significance for Chapman, to the extent that he wished to model his life after the novel's protagonist,Holden Caulfield. One of the novel's main themes is Caulfield's rage against adulthypocrisy and "phonies".[5] Chapman said that he had been enraged by Lennon's infamous, much-publicized remark in 1966 that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus", and by the lyrics of Lennon's songs "God" (in which Lennon states that he does not believe in the Beatles,God, orJesus) and "Imagine", where Lennon states "imagine no possessions", despite having a lavish lifestyle (as depicted inAnthony Fawcett's 1976 bookJohn Lennon: One Day at a Time). Chapman concluded that the latter made Lennon a "phony".[6]
On 27 October 1980, Chapman purchased a five-shotrevolver, manufactured byCharter Arms and chambered in.38 Special, in Honolulu.[7] He flew to New York City two days later after contacting theFederal Aviation Administration to learn the best way to transport a revolver. Chapman learned that bullets could be damaged during air travel, so he did not bringammunition on the flight. Chapman left New York on 12 or 13 November,[8] then flew back on 6 December[9] and checked into aYMCA on theUpper West Side for a night before moving to a Sheraton hotel inMidtown Manhattan.[7]
Chapman waited for Lennon outsidethe Dakota in the early morning and spent most of the day near the entrance to the building, talking to fans and thedoorman. That morning, Chapman was distracted and missed seeing Lennon step out of a taxi and enter the Dakota.[10][11]
Annie Leibovitz, aportrait photographer, arrived at Lennon's apartment for aphoto shoot intended forRolling Stone magazine.[12] Leibovitz assured Lennon and Ono that a photograph of the two of them naked together would make the front cover of the magazine. She captured several images of Lennon by himself, with one set to be on the cover.[13][14] Although Ono was initially reluctant to pose nude, Lennon insisted that both he and his wife be on the cover, and after taking the pictures, Leibovitz left their apartment at 3:30 p.m.[12] After the photo shoot, Lennon gave what would be his last interview, toSan Francisco disc jockey Dave Sholin, writer Laurie Kaye, and recorder/producer Ron Hummel for a music show to be broadcast on theRKO Radio Network.[15] At around 5:00 p.m., Lennon and Ono, delayed by a latelimousine shared with the RKO Radio crew, left their apartment to mix the song "Walking on Thin Ice", an Ono song featuring Lennon on lead guitar, at theRecord Plant.[16]
As they left the building, Lennon and Ono were approached by Chapman, who asked for Lennon's autograph on a copy of his recently released album,Double Fantasy (1980).[17][18][19] Lennon liked to give autographs or pictures, especially to those who had been waiting for long periods of time to meet him.[12] Later, Chapman said, "He was very kind to me. Ironically, very kind and was very patient with me. The limousine was waiting... and he took his time with me and he got the pen going and he signed my album. He asked me if I needed anything else. I said, 'No. No sir.' And he walked away. Very cordial and decent man."[20] Paul Goresh, an amateur photographer and Lennon fan, took a photo of Lennon signing Chapman's album.[21][22]
The Lennons returned to the Dakota around 10:50 p.m.[12] Lennon wanted to say goodnight to Sean before going to theStage Deli restaurant with Ono.[12] The Lennons exited their limousine on72nd Street instead of driving into the more secure courtyard of the Dakota.[23] They passed Chapman and walked toward the archway entrance of the building. As Ono walked by, Chapman nodded at her. As Lennon walked by, he glanced briefly at Chapman, appearing to recognize him from earlier that day.[10] Seconds later, Chapman drew his revolver from his coat pocket, aimed it at the center of Lennon's back, and fired fivehollow-point bullets from a distance of approximately nine to ten feet (2.7–3.0 m).[24]
The 72nd Street entrance to the Dakota, where Lennon was shot
Based on statements made that night byNew York City Police Department (NYPD) Chief of Detectives James Sullivan, numerous reports at the time stated that Chapman called out "Mr. Lennon" and dropped into acombat stance before firing.[25] Later court hearings and witness interviews did not include either of these details. Chapman said that he does not remember calling out to Lennon before he fired,[26][27] and that Lennon did not turn around.[28] He claimed to have taken a combat stance in a 1992 interview withBarbara Walters.[29]
Side view of the Dakota archway, showing the step Lennon climbed before he collapsed in the lobby
One bullet missed Lennon and struck a window of the Dakota. According to theautopsy, two bullets entered the left side of Lennon's back, with one exiting through his chest and lung and the other lodging in his neck, and two more bullets hit his left shoulder.[30][31] Lennon, bleeding profusely from his external wounds and from his mouth, staggered up five steps to the lobby, crying, "I'm shot! I'm shot!" He then fell to the floor, scattering the cassettes he had been carrying.[32]
José Sanjenís Perdomo, the doorman, shook the revolver out of Chapman's hand and kicked it across the pavement.[32]Concierge worker Jay Hastings first started to make atourniquet, but upon ripping open Lennon's blood-stained shirt and realizing the severity of his injuries, he covered Lennon's chest with his uniform jacket, removed his blood-covered glasses, and summoned the police.[12] Chapman removed his coat and hat to show that he was not carrying any concealed weapons and remained standing on 72nd Street, waiting for police to arrive.[30] Underneath his coat, he wore a promotional T-shirt forTodd Rundgren's albumHermit of Mink Hollow.[33] Perdomo shouted at Chapman, "Do you know what you just did?", to which Chapman calmly replied, "I just shot John Lennon."[30]
Officers Steven Spiro and Peter Cullen were the first policemen to arrive at the scene; they were at 72nd Street andBroadway when they heard a report of shots fired at the Dakota. The officers arrived about two minutes after the shooting and found Chapman standing very calmly on 72nd Street reading a paperback copy ofThe Catcher in the Rye.[34] They immediately put Chapman in handcuffs and placed him in the back seat of their squad car. Chapman made no attempt to flee or resist arrest.[34] Cullen said of Chapman: "He apologized to us for ruining our night. I turned around and said to him, 'You've got to be fucking kidding me. You're worried about our night? Do you know what you just did to your life?' Weread him his rights more than once."[35]
Officers Herb Frauenberger and Tony Palma were the second team to arrive on the scene. They found Lennon lying face down on the floor of the lobby, blood pouring from his mouth and his clothing already soaked with it, with Hastings attending to him. Officers James Moran and Bill Gamble soon arrived as well. Frauenberger put Lennon in Moran and Gamble's car, concluding his condition was too serious to wait for anambulance to arrive. Moran and Gamble then drove Lennon toRoosevelt Hospital on West 59th Street, followed by Frauenberger and Palma, who drove Ono to that location.[36][37][38] According to Gamble, in the car, Moran asked, "Are you John Lennon?" or, "Do you know who you are?" Lennon nodded, but could only manage to make a moaning and gurgling sound when he tried to speak, and lost consciousness shortly thereafter.[39]
If [Lennon] had been shot this way in the middle of the operating room with a whole team of surgeons ready to work on him... he still wouldn't have survived his injuries.
— Stephan Lynn, head of the Emergency Department at Roosevelt Hospital[40]
A few minutes before 11:00 p.m., Moran arrived at Roosevelt Hospital with Lennon in his squad car. Moran carried Lennon on his back and placed him onto a gurney, demanding a doctor for a multiple gunshot wound victim. When Lennon was brought in, he was not breathing and had no pulse. Three doctors, a nurse, and two or three other medical attendants worked on Lennon for 10 to 20 minutes in an attempt to resuscitate him. As a last resort, the doctors cut open his chest and attempted aresuscitative thoracotomy to restore circulation, but they quickly discovered that the damage to the blood vessels above and around Lennon's heart from the bullet wounds was too great.[41]
Three of the four bullets that struck Lennon's back passed completely through his body and out of his chest, while the fourth lodged itself in hisaorta beside his heart. One of the exiting bullets from Lennon's chest hit and became lodged in his upper left arm. Several of the wounds could have been fatal by themselves because each bullet had ruptured vital arteries around the heart. Lennon was shot four times at close range with hollow-point bullets and his affected organs—particularly his left lung and major blood vessels above his heart—were virtually destroyed upon impact.[40]
Reports regarding who operated on and attempted to resuscitate Lennon have been inconsistent. Stephan Lynn, the head of the Emergency Department at Roosevelt Hospital, is usually credited with performing Lennon's surgery. In 2005, Lynn said that he massaged Lennon's heart and attempted to resuscitate him for 20 minutes, that two other doctors were present, and that the three of them declared Lennon's death.[41] Richard Marks, an emergency room surgeon at Roosevelt Hospital, stated in 1990 that he operated on Lennon, administered a "massive" blood transfusion, and provided heart massage to no avail. "When I realized he wasn't going to make it," said Marks, "I just sewed him back up. I felt helpless."[42] David Halleran, who had been a third-year general surgery resident at Roosevelt Hospital, disputed the accounts of both Marks and Lynn. In 2015, Halleran stated that the two doctors "didn't do anything", and that he did not initially realize the identity of the victim. He added that Lynn only came to assist him when he heard that the victim was Lennon.[43][44]
According to hisdeath certificate, Lennon was pronounced dead on arrival at 11:15 p.m.,[45] but the time of 11:07 p.m. has also been reported.[46] Witnesses noted that the Beatles song "All My Loving" came over the hospital's sound system at the moment Lennon was pronounced dead.[47] Lennon's body was then taken to the city morgue at 520 First Avenue for anautopsy. The cause of death was reported on his death certificate as "hypovolemic shock, caused by the loss of more than 80% ofblood volume due to multiple through-and-through gunshot wounds to the left shoulder and left chest resulting in damage to the left lung, the leftsubclavian artery, and both the aorta andaortic arch".[48] According to the report, even with prompt medical treatment, no person could have lived for more than a few minutes with many bullet wounds affecting all of the major arteries and veins around the heart.[48]
Ono asked Roosevelt Hospital not to report to the media that her husband was dead until she had informed their five-year-old son Sean, who was still at home at the Dakota. Ono said that he was probably watching television and that she did not want him to learn of his father's death from a TV announcement. However, news producer Alan J. Weiss ofWABC-TV happened to be waiting for treatment in the emergency room after being injured in a motorcycle crash earlier in the evening. Police officers wheeled Lennon into the same room as Weiss and mentioned what happened. Weiss called his station and relayed the information.[49]
Meanwhile, word reachedRoone Arledge, who at the time was the president of both ABC News and ABC Sports as well as executive producer forMonday Night Football, which on this night featured a matchup between theNew England Patriots and theMiami Dolphins. Arledge relayed the news toFrank Gifford andHoward Cosell, who had interviewed Lennon during aMonday Night Football broadcast in 1974,[50] suggesting that they issue the report of the murder to the audience watching at home. Arledge asked Cosell to be the one to deliver the reported, but he did not want to initially; Gifford convinced Cosell otherwise, saying, "You've got to. If you know it, we've got to do it. Don't hang on it. It's a tragic moment, and this is going to shake up the whole world."[51]
Cosell: It's been a dramatic ballgame, but it's suddenly been placed in total perspective for us. I'll finish this; they're in the hurry-up offense.
Gifford: Third down, four.[Chuck] Foreman ... it'll be fourth down.[Matt] Cavanaugh will let it run down for one final attempt; he'll let the seconds tick off to give Miami no opportunity whatsoever.(Whistle blows.) Timeout is called; three seconds remaining;John Smith is on the line. And I don't care what's on the line, Howard, you have got to say what we know in the booth.
Cosell: Yes, we have to say it. Remember, this is just a football game, no matter who wins or loses. An unspeakable tragedy confirmed to us by ABC News in New York City: John Lennon, outside of his apartment building on theWest Side of New York City – the most famous, perhaps, of all of the Beatles – shot twice in the back, rushed to Roosevelt Hospital, dead on arrival. Hard to go back to the game after that newsflash, which, in duty-bound, we have to take. Frank?
The first official confirmation of Lennon's death apparently came from Steve North, the news director forLong Island radio stationWLIR, according to North and disc jockey Bob Waugh. North was doing a special comment on the recent murder of gun control advocateMichael J. Halberstam, when an intern ran in with the news about Lennon. North then read theAP wire bulletin and spoke several times with a police contact, who was finally able to confirm Lennon had died.[56] Waugh has since released an aircheck from that night.[57]
New York rock stationWNEW immediately suspended all programming and opened its lines to calls from listeners. Stations throughout the country switched to special programming devoted to Lennon or Beatles music.[58]
Lynn claimed that Yoko Ono responded to the news of her husband's death with extreme distress, banging her head against the hospital floor.[59] His account is disputed by two nurses present at the scene.[60] Ono herself refuted Lynn's version of events in a 2015 interview, stating that her priority was to remain calm and take care of her son, Sean.[61] She was led away from the hospital by a policeman andGeffen Records presidentDavid Geffen.[62] The following day, Ono issued a statement: "There is no funeral for John. Later in the week we will set the time for a silentvigil to pray for his soul. We invite you to participate from wherever you are at the time.... John loved and prayed for the human race. Please pray the same for him. Love. Yoko and Sean."[30]
George Harrison issued a prepared statement for the press: "After all we went through together, I had and still have great love and respect for him. I am shocked and stunned. To rob a life is the ultimate robbery in life. The perpetual encroachment on other people's space is taken to the limit with the use of a gun. It is an outrage that people can take other people's lives when they obviously haven't got their own lives in order."[63] Harrison later privately told friends, "I just wanted to be in a band. Here we are, twenty years later, and some whack job has shot my mate. I just wanted to play guitar in a band."[63]
Paul McCartney addressed reporters outside hisSussex home that morning and said, "I can't take it at the moment. John was a great man who'll be remembered for his unique contributions to art, music and peace. He is going to be missed by the whole world."[64] Later that day, McCartney was leaving anOxford Street recording studio when reporters asked him for his reaction; he concluded his response with, "Drag, isn't it? Okay, cheers, bye-bye". His apparently casual response was widely condemned. McCartney later clarified that he had intended no disrespect and simply was unable to articulate his shock and sadness.[65][better source needed] Reflecting on the day two years later, McCartney said the following: "How did I feel? I can't remember. I can't express it. I can't believe it. It was crazy. It was anger. It was fear. It was madness. It was the world coming to an end. And it was, 'Will it happen to me next?' I just felt everything. I still can't put into words. Shocking. And I ended up saying, 'It's a drag,' and that doesn't really sum it up."[66]
Ringo Starr, who was in the Bahamas at the time, received a phone call from his stepchildren informing him about the murder. He flew to New York to console Ono and Sean.[67]
In a 1995 interview withNew Musical Express magazine,Rolling Stones guitaristKeith Richards claimed that he was just a few miles south of the Dakota (onFifth Avenue) when he found out about Lennon's murder, whereupon Richards obtained a firearm of his own and searched the streets for the alleged killer.[68]
The outpouring of grief, wonder and shared devastation that followed Lennon's death had the same breadth and intensity as the reaction to the killing of a world figure: some bold and popular politician, likeJohn orRobert Kennedy, or a spiritual leader, likeMartin Luther King Jr. But Lennon was a creature of poetic political metaphor, and his spiritual consciousness was directed inward, as a way of nurturing and widening his creative force. That was what made the impact, and the difference – the shock of his imagination, the penetrating and pervasive traces of his genius—and it was the loss of all that, in so abrupt and awful a way, that was mourned last week, all over the world.
Per Ono's wishes, on 14 December, millions of people around the world paused for 10 minutes of silence to remember Lennon, including 30,000 people gathered in Lennon's birthplace ofLiverpool and over 225,000 people at theNaumburg Bandshell inCentral Park, near the scene of the shooting.[69] During this period, all radio stations in New York City ceased broadcasting.[70]
At least three Beatles fans committedsuicide after the murder,[71] prompting Ono to publicly ask mourners not to give in to despair.[72][73] On 18 January 1981, a full-page open letter from Ono appeared inThe New York Times andThe Washington Post. Titled "In Gratitude", it thanked the millions of people who mourned Lennon's loss and expressed a desire to commemorate his life and support her and Sean.[74]
Chapman was charged withsecond-degree murder of Lennon, as premeditation in New York State was not sufficient to warrant charge of first-degree murder. Despite advice by his lawyers toplead insanity, Chapmanpleaded guilty to the murder, saying that his plea was thewill of God.[77][34] Under the terms of his plea, Chapman was sentenced to 20-years-to-life imprisonment with eligibility forparole in 2000. Before his sentencing, Chapman was given the opportunity to address the court, at which point he read a passage fromThe Catcher in the Rye.[8] As of September 2025, Chapman has been denied parole 14 times and remains incarcerated atGreen Haven Correctional Facility.[78]
Ono released a solo album,Season of Glass, in 1981. The cover of the album is a photograph of the blood-splattered glasses than Lennon was wearing when he was shot. That same year, Ono also released the song "Walking on Thin Ice", which she and Lennon had mixed at the Record Plant on the day of before the killing, as a single.[79]
Three months after Lennon's murder,John Hinckley Jr.attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan. Police later found a copy ofThe Catcher in the Rye among Hinckley's possessions,[80] as well as a cassette tape in which Hinckley expressed sadness over Lennon's death and said he wished to make "some kind of statement" after it.[81]
In June 2016, Dakota concierge Jay Hastings sold the shirt he was wearing when he tried to aid Lennon at an auction for $42,500.[82]
Leibovitz's photo of a naked Lennon embracing his wife, taken on the day of the murder, was the cover of the 22 January 1981 issue ofRolling Stone, most of which was dedicated to articles, letters, and photographs commemorating Lennon's life and death.[13][83] In 2005, theAmerican Society of Magazine Editors ranked it as the top magazine cover of the last forty years.[84]
TheImagine Peace Tower (Icelandic: Friðarsúlan, meaning "the peace column") is a memorial to John Lennon from his widow, Yoko Ono, onViðey Island inFaxaflói Bay nearReykjavík, Iceland.
On 28–30 September 2007, Durness held the John Lennon Northern Lights Festival, which was attended by Lennon's half-sister,Julia Baird, who read from his writings and her own books; and Stanley Parkes, Lennon's Scottish cousin.[86][87]
Ono places a lit candle in the window of Lennon's room in the Dakota every year on 8 December,[88] while fans gather at the nearby Strawberry Fields memorial in Central Park for an all-day vigil, with musicians playing Lennon's songs while the crowd sings along.[89]
Every year from 9 October, Lennon's birthday, until 8 December, the date Lennon was shot, theImagine Peace Tower in Iceland is lit.[90]
On 24 March 2018, Paul McCartney participated in theMarch for Our Lives, a protest against gun violence, because of Lennon's killing.[91]
Bob Dylan wrote and recorded the song "Roll On John" on his 2012 albumTempest, which explicitly refers to the assassination ("They shot him in the back and down he went").[92]
David Bowie, who befriended Lennon while Lennon co-wrote and performed on Bowie's US #1 hit "Fame" in 1975, performed a tribute to Lennon in the final show of hisSerious Moonlight Tour at theHong Kong Coliseum, on 8 December 1983—the third anniversary of Lennon's death. Bowie said he last saw Lennon in Hong Kong, and performed Lennon's song "Imagine".[93]
Roxy Music recorded a cover version of Lennon's 1971 song "Jealous Guy" as a tribute single released in February 1981.[95] The song reached No. 1 in the UK singles charts for two weeks.[96]
Paul Simon's homage to Lennon, "The Late Great Johnny Ace", initially sings of the rhythm and blues singerJohnny Ace, who is said to have shot himself in 1954, then goes on to refer to John Lennon, as well as President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963, the year "Beatlemania" started. The song also appears on Simon'sHearts and Bones (1983) album.[99]
Strawberry Fields during wintertime, with the Dakota in the background
In 1985, New York City dedicated an area of Central Park where Lennon had frequently walked, directly across from the Dakota, asStrawberry Fields. In a symbolic show of unity, countries from around the world donated trees, and the city ofNaples, Italy, donated theImagine mosaic centerpiece.[105]
On 9 October 2007, Ono dedicated in memory of Lennon a memorial called theImagine Peace Tower, on the island ofViðey, off the coast ofReykjavík,Iceland. Every year, between 9 October and 8 December, the memorial projects a vertical beam of light into the sky.[90]
In 2009, the New York City annex of theRock and Roll Hall of Fame hosted a special John Lennon exhibit that included many mementos and personal effects from Lennon's life, as well as the clothes he was wearing when he was murdered, still in the brown paper bag from Roosevelt Hospital.[106][107]
In 2018, Ono created an artwork in John Lennon's memory, titled "Sky", forMTA Arts & Design. The artwork was installed during the renovation of the72nd Street station on theNew York City Subway (served by theB and C trains), outside the Dakota.[108]
Formerpresident of CroatiaIvo Josipović composed an opera calledLennon about the murder of John Lennon. In the opera, Lennon has a series of flashbacks during the murder, in which he remembers the most important moments and people in his life.[109]
Fenton Bresler, abarrister and journalist, raised the idea of CIA involvement in the murder in his 1990 bookWho Killed John Lennon? Bresler alleges that Chapman may have been brainwashed by the CIA as an assassin, such as inThe Manchurian Candidate.[115][116][117]
Liverpool playwright Ian Carroll staged a drama,One Bad Thing, conveying the theory Chapman was manipulated by a rogue wing of the CIA "who wanted Lennon off the scene".[118]
Salvador Astrucia argued thatforensic evidence proves Chapman did not commit the murder in his 2004 bookRethinking John Lennon's Assassination: The FBI's War on Rock Stars.[119]
The 2010 documentaryThe Day John Lennon Died suggests that Jose Perdomo, the doorman at the Dakota, was a Cuban exile with links to the CIA and theBay of Pigs invasion.[47][120]
^Montgomery, Paul L. (10 December 1980). "Police Trace Tangled Path Leading to Lennon's Slaying at the Dakota".The New York Times. pp. A1, B6.ISSN0362-4331. Unverified quotes attributed to NYPD Chief of Detectives James T. Sullivan and in turn to an unnamed witness.
^Walters, Barbara (4 December 1992). "Interview with Mark David Chapman".20/20. "I pulled the .38 revolver out of my pocket and I went into what's called a combat stance and I fired at his back five steady shots".
_entrance_by_David_Shankbone.jpg)
.jpg)
