John Lennon was shot dead outside his New York home
On this day · 8 December 1980
The former Beatle was killed by an obsessed fan at the Dakota, sparking worldwide mourning.
On the night of December 8, 1980, former Beatle John Lennon was shot outside the Dakota, his apartment building on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The gunman, Mark David Chapman, had loitered near the entrance for hours; earlier that day Lennon had paused to autograph an album for him.
When Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, returned from a recording session near 11 p.m., Chapman fired several hollow-point rounds, hitting Lennon in the back. Police rushed him to Roosevelt Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. He was 40.
Chapman pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years to life; he remains imprisoned, repeatedly denied parole. For days, grieving fans held vigil outside the Dakota, and tributes spread around the globe.
Lennon’s nearby memorial in Central Park, Strawberry Fields, still draws mourners decades later.
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