Truman assassination attempt

Truman assassination attempt
Harry S. Truman
Location	Blair House Washington, DC
Date	November 1, 1950
Target	Harry S. Truman
Weapons	Walther P38, Luger pistol
Deaths	Two; Leslie Coffelt, Griselio Torresola
Non-fatal injuries	Three; Donald Birdzell, Oscar Collazo, Joseph Downs
Perpetrators	Oscar Collazo, Griselio Torresola
Motive	Political status of Puerto Rico

The second of two assassination attempts on US President Harry S. Truman occurred on November 1, 1950. It was carried out by militant Puerto Rican pro-independence activists Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola while the president resided at Blair House during the renovation of the White House. Both men were stopped before gaining entry to the house. Torresola mortally wounded White House Police officer Leslie Coffelt, who killed him in return fire. Secret Service agents wounded Collazo. President Harry S. Truman was upstairs in the house and not harmed.

In the 1940s, the Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico had little political power in the country, where voters had elected the Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico (PPD) as the majority in the legislature. Nationalists believed that Puerto Rico suffered under American colonialism and wanted independence. The Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico (PPD) was supporting negotiations with the United States to create a "new" political status for the island.

The Puerto Rican Nationalist Party Revolts of the 1950s were an armed protest for independence from United States Government rule over Puerto Rico. The Party repudiated the "Free Associated State" (Estado Libre Asociado) status that had been enacted in 1950, as the Nationalists considered it to be a continuation of colonialism.