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Bernard (Bernhard) Goetz was riding a New York City subway train on December 22, 1984. Four black youths, aged 18 and 19, menacingly surrounded him and demanded money. Goetz, who had previously been mugged twice, opened fire with a small-calibre handgun. One shot severed the spinal cord of one of the assailants, permanently paralyzing him. The other three were less seriously wounded. Goetz fled the subway car but eventually turned himself into police nine days later. Dubbed the Subway Vigilante by New York's newspapers, Goetz was hailed as a hero by crime-weary New Yorkers after it was discovered the four youths all had long criminal records and admitted to being on their way to steal money from machines at a video arcade. (At the time, an average of 38 crimes were committed in the New York subway system each day!) Goetz was only convicted of a third-degree gun possession felony and served eight months in jail. The three able-bodied felons all committed serious crimes afterwards. One was sentenced to 25 years for raping and sodomizing a pregnant woman.
Tags:
Bernard
Goetz
Subway
vigilante
Added: 29th June 2008
Views: 187
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Posted By: Lava1964 |
 
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