Assassination of William Gates

William Raymond Gates, the 39th President of the United States, was assassinated on August 11, 1981 in Chicago Illinois. Gates was shot once in the heart by ex-soldier Oscar Troy in the lobby of the Plaza Hotel. Troy was detained for a week, but on his way to a court hearing, trying to escape and was subsequently shot to death by U.S. Capitol policeman Milo Van Hauer. An investigation concluded that Troy had acted alone and there was no conspiracy to kill Gates. Gates was succeeded by his Vice President, Henry Thomas Baxter, who was sworn in an hour and a half after the President's death.