He saw them. The got from behind. He shot for five times; four bullets hit the target. The legendary singer who said “Imagine” to the whole world was on the ground. His wife was holding her head in this hand.
The shooter would say, “someone in my head said, “do it, do it”.” After killing him, he had a book in his hand and turning the pages: The book was “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger written in 1951 and sold to more than 100 million in numerous languages.
When John Lennon’s career was rising again, he was killed on 08 December 1980 in front of the hotel he was staying in New York by Mark David Chapman who was claimed to have mental problems and was a Beatles fan.
Although he was British, Lennon loved New York and continued to live there. He was indicated as a national threat during Nixon’s time and he wanted to be deported. Because Lennon always called for peace and questioned the War of Vietnam with the songs he wrote and composed, bold and free statements in the TV shows, his clever answers to the cameras and creative actions. He was so successful with that he attracted masses like a magnet.
This intelligent man was described as full of pain in his harsh times. “Ignorance is happiness. If you don’t know anything, you will not feel pain. Superior intelligence is pain. It will give pain to people.”
On 08 December 1980, Mark David Chapman met John when he was leaving his apartment to go to the recording studio. Lennon released his Double Fantasy album and Chapman asked for an autograph. Chapman spends the entire day there. The doorkeeper and others were distracted by the firework show near Central Park.
They got back home later at night. Yoko got out of the car first. When Yoko was entering the apartment, John came out. Chapman was waiting there. When John was about to open the door, Chapman called from behind. “Mr. Lennon!” When John turned, Chapman crouched in a fighter position and shot 5 times according to an eyewitness. He missed one. 4 shots hit John from the back and shoulder.
John lost 80% of his blood and he died in the ER when he was 40 years old. John Lennon was dead without any reason and because of a mentally ill person. He was a changed and calm John Lennon, a father and without being too extreme. A smart John Lennon might not work well for some.
After his death, a lot of things were said and conspiracy theories were created. British lawyer and journalist Fenton Bressler who wrote “Who killed John Lennon?” book stated the following based on eye-witnesses and documents: “The killer Mark David Chapman was not a disappointed ex-fan; he was a hitman with a remote control in his brain.”
The cover of the famous Times magazine turned into reality. The music was dead. Before the shooting, this was the last words of Lennon:
“I will continue as long as I am not dead.” What he was going to continue was his political attitude which has been a part of his identity for a long time. A struggle for “peace” against the violence around the world.
“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”
Yoko Ono, the wife of legendary murdered John Lennon shared the image of his bloody glass on Twitter and give the message of disarmament.
The text reads: “Over 1,057,000 people have been killed by guns in the USA since John Lennon was shot and killed on 8 Dec 1980.”
Chapter 27 is a 2007 biography, drama and crime movie. The movie adapted from Jack Jones’s “Let Me Take You Down” book is telling the story of Mark David Chapman, the murdered and claimed to be a fan of John Lennon.
The name of the movie comes from “The Catcher in the Rye”, the 26-chapter novel of Salinger which came out of Mark David Chapman’s pocket that day.
