Panic and prayers: The day John Paul II was shot 40 years ago

Tuesday, May 11, 2021 - 4 min read

Pope John Paul II (centre) blesses followers a few seconds before being shot on May 13, 1981.

Photo credit: AFP

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Italian authorities quickly confirmed the shooter -- 23-year-old Mehmet Ali Agca -- had been arrested and that his weapon was a Browning handgun.
His accomplice -- another Turk -- Oral Celik fled and was arrested a few years later in France for drug trafficking and then extradited to Italy.