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List of United States Congress members killed or wounded in office


Since the United States Congress was established with the 1st Congress in 1789, fourteen of its members have been killed while in office by people seeking to do them harm, and nine members have suffered serious injuries as a result of such attacks. The members of Congress included in this list were either injured or killed by someone intending to do them serious harm, or there is a serious claim that there was a lethal intent from an unknown assailant (such as the two congressmen who died of National Hotel Disease). The earliest a member of Congress was killed or wounded while in office was 1831 when Spencer Pettis was killed in a duel and the most recent death occurred in 1983 when a plane carrying Larry McDonald was shot down over the Pacific Ocean. The most recent Congress member to be wounded was Gabrielle Giffords who was seriously injured during the 2011 Tucson shooting.

Out of the 14 Congress members killed in office, all of them were male and 10 were Democrats while four were Republicans. Three members died in duels, and a total of nine (six members of the House of Representatives and three senators) died from gunshot wounds.

Nine Congress members have been wounded while in office. Three of the wounded were Republicans, five were Democrats, and one was a member of the Free Soil Party. Only one was a woman, and only three were senators. Five of those injured were wounded during the 1954 United States Capitol shooting incident.

Party colors:   Democratic   Republican


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