Secret Service: Difference between revisions

In 1950, President Harry S. Truman was residing in [[Blair House]] while the White House, across the street, was undergoing renovations. On November 1, 1950, two [[Puerto Rico|Puerto Rican]] nationalists, [[Oscar Collazo]] and [[Griselio Torresola]], approached Blair House with the intent to [[Truman assassination attempt|assassinate President Truman]]. Collazo and Torresola opened fire on Private [[Leslie Coffelt]] and other White House Police officers. Though mortally wounded by three shots from a [[9×19mm Parabellum|9 mm]] German [[Luger P08 pistol|Luger]] to his chest and abdomen, Private Coffelt returned fire, killing Torresola with a single shot to his head. Collazo was also shot, but survived his injuries and served 29 years in prison before returning to Puerto Rico in late 1979.{{Citation needed|date=September 2018}} Coffelt is the only member of the Secret Service killed while protecting a US president against an assassination attempt (Special Agent [[Tim McCarthy]] stepped in front of President [[Ronald Reagan]] during the [[Reagan assassination attempt|assassination attempt]] of March 30, 1981, and took a bullet to the chest but made a full recovery<ref>