April 15, 1865
Attempt on the life
of President Lincoln
Assassin foiled, First Lady
clings to life
War Department.
Washington D.C. An
assassin struck just before 10pm last night, at the Ford Theater where the
President and Mrs. Lincoln were attending a production of Our American Cousin.
The assassin, believed to be John Wilkes Booth, the actor, crept into the balcony and attempted to shoot
the president from behind. The pistol malfunctioned, sending a ball into the
head of the First Lady. She is not expected to survive.
Mr. Booth then leapt to
the stage and escaped through the back of the theater. Witnesses heard him cry
out a phrase, possibly in Latin, though others said they heard him hiss, as a
snake might.
A second grisly scene was
found behind the theater when police discovered clothing and a flayed human
skin—believed to be that of the assassin—near an open sewer pipe. No blood or other
remains were found. How such a murder could happen so quickly and with
no witnesses is unknown at this time.
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