Martin Luther King Jr. Assassinated in Memphis: The Day the Civil Rights Leader Was Shot

On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was shot while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He had traveled there to lead a march in support of striking sanitation workers. The shot, fired from a .30-06 rifle, came from Bessie Brewer's Rooming House across the street. King was rushed to a hospital about two miles away, arriving at 6:15 PM. Despite emergency surgery, including a tracheostomy and blood transfusions, he was pronounced dead at 7:05 PM. The autopsy revealed damage to major blood vessels, his lung, spine, and spinal cord. James Earl Ray was identified as the suspect through fingerprint evidence on April 19. He was arrested at Heathrow Airport in London on June 8, confessed, and received a 99-year prison sentence. Ray later recanted, and investigations in the 1970s and 1990s found possible additional conspirators but no conclusive evidence of government involvement. King's death sparked riots across the United States, contrasting with his nonviolent philosophy. His legacy endures as a central figure of the American Civil Rights Movement.