The Killing of John Lennon Page #5

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Hands on your head!

Do it! Do it now!

Don't move!

He shot John Lennon!

Come on, man.

Hold on.

Come on, John.

Hold in there.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. OK.

Come on. Hold on! Come on.

Come on.

Hang in there.

Come on. Come on!

[Mark] Please, don't hurt me.

I murdered a man,

but not only did I fall,

I took a lot more with me

than just myself.

A whole era ended.

It was the last nail in the coffin of the '60s.

[newsreader] He was brought to

the emergency room shortly before 11pm.

He was dead on arrival.

[cameras click]

[newsreader] ...tonight, live.

If you've been anywhere near a television

set or a radio these past few hours,

you already know

that John Lennon of the Beatles is dead.

He's not dead.

John Lennon can't be dead.

The suspect at this time is...

First of all, his identity.

25-year-old Mark David Chapman.

He comes from Hawaii. Police tell me he's

been in the New York area about a week,

and began to hang around the apartment

over the weekend, asking about Lennon.

He apparently ran into him for the

first time this evening, about five o'clock,

asking Lennon for his autograph.

Lennon gave it to him

on the jacket cover of a record.

Lennon went off

to a recording session,

and we are told that Chapman remained

at the hotel until Mr Lennon returned,

about eleven o'clock this evening.

Police officials

describe what happened this way.

They say that Chapman came up

from behind, yelled out Mr Lennon's name

and emptied a.38 revolver.

There were at least

five shots spent.

There is very little known

about 25-year-old Chapman.

He has been taken

to the 20th Police Precinct, fingerprinted.

They're checking for prior arrest records,

also for a motive. They don't have any yet.

They charged him officially with murder,

but the reason for this attack, unknown.

Have a seat.

OK. Calm down, all right?

I'm going to take off your cuffs,

make you a Iittle more comfortable.

- State your name.

- Mark David Chapman.

- Your age.

- 25.

- Your address.

- 55 Kukui Street, Honolulu, Hawaii.

OK, do me a favour and stand up.

I just want to check your pockets.

What have we got?

Have a seat, all right?

[Mark] I remember a lot of pain and

confusion when I dictated the statement.

I was in a very unreal,

very surreal world.

I was in an utter panic

of sheer terror

and wanted things to go back to the way

they were before I had pulled the trigger.

I felt anger spreading over my mind

as I was dictating the statement

and talking about

"Catcher in the Rye ",

Iike I was being sucked into a giant wave

that I couldn't swim out of

or even come up for air.

I didn't want to kill anybody,

and I really don't know

why I did it.

I asked God to help me,

but we're all responsible

for our own actions.

I came to New York

five weeks ago.

I stayed at the YMCA

on 62nd Street.

[newsreader] Mourners began gathering

soon after the news of Lennon's death

and there are easily now

a thousand mourners

who've come

to pay tribute to him.

At the beginning, it was

a very solemn vigil. Many held candles...

[newsreader #2] There were

up to a thousand admirers at one time.

Lennon's wife, Yoko Ono,

at one time sent a message down

asking the mourners to disperse,

and most of them did,

but they are starting to return again,

playing the familiar songs

that are so connected

with John Lennon,

and some also

for the Beatles as a group.

The feeling is of tremendous loss,

and these people feel it very personally.

The profound loss to the music world

is yet to be accounted for.

Come on, Iook alive.

Let's get going. Move it.

Get me a vest.

Hold him up, right here.

- Get the vest on him.

- Take your glasses off.

Hold your hands up.

I'm not gonna have Jack Ruby kill you

in my station house, you understand?

Come on. Secure that.

Listen up. We've got the man

who shot John Lennon here.

I don't want any Oswalds,

you got it?

- Give me a coat.

- Get him a coat.

No f***-ups.

You understand me?

Are you ready?

Move.

Get the door.

- Move it up. AII right, Iet's go.

- [reporters shout]

Jesus Christ! Get them the f***...

Get them back. Let's go.

- Move the f*** back. Let's go.

- [reporters continue to shout]

[Mark] I remember,

from the darkness inside the coat,

a tremendous tumult occurring as

we walked from one door to another door.

Let's go. Down the stairs.

In the bathroom!

[Mark] I looked down,

and the ground was lit up by white light.

It was almost like I was walking on

just one giant pulsating beam of light

under my feet.

[all shout at once]

Back the f*** up, man!

- [policeman] Come on. Let's go.

- Jesus Christ!

Cullen, get on the door.

- Relax.

- [siren outside]

So...

why'd you do it?

I Iike John Lennon.

So do I.

Boss, it's clear. Let's go.

Cullen, Iet's go.

[Mark] I was Mr Nobody

till I killed the biggest somebody on Earth.

[newsreader] Outside the court

were many Lennon fans.

Security measures were strict

when they filed in

as there have been many threats

against Chapman's life since the murder.

[Mark] I was nothing.

Then I was a big shot.

This was the hottest thing

in the city at the time.

Who are you?

Get outta here! Get outta here!

Get the f*** outta here now!

Get him in the car.

Get him in the f***ing car!

Let's go!

Move it!

Let's go! Let's go!

[newsreader] 25-year-old

Chapman of Hawaii

was described as

having a smirk on his face.

Police, calling him a wacko,

charged him with murder.

John's wife, Yoko Ono, issued

a statement to the weeping crowd of 500

who gathered quickly

outside the co-op.

She said, "John loved and prayed for the

human race. Please do the same for him. "

John Lennon and Paul McCartney

wrote more hit songs

than any composers

in modern history.

They're considered to have been the spirit

behind many of the social changes

of the '60s and '70s.

Hey! Get back down there.

AII I care about is getting you out of here

before someone kills you.

- You understand?

- Yes, sir.

[buzzer]

[newsreader] Chapman was charged with

second-degree murder,

the most serious charge in New York

State for killing a non-law-officer.

He was then taken to Bellevue Hospital

for psychiatric...

[newsreader #2] Everywhere he goes,

Chapman wears two bulletproofjackets.

The threat of a lynching

is almost too much for police.

They fear that fans

might decide to storm the hospital.

[siren outside]

[ "Strut Your Funky Stuff' by

Mista Groove featuring Joneice Jamieson]

[Mark] I remember cockroaches

and I remember filth,

and I remember a smell.

I remember loud disco music,

and I remember just a terrible feeling

of something like a Fellini film.

[ "Strut Your Funky Stuff' continues]

[woman on TV] ...so well,

and music critic Robert Palmer

who recently interviewed John Lennon.

John Coleman will bring us

weather news this morning,

but now, at 30 minutes, almost 31,

after seven o'clock,

Steve Bell has the news.

[Steve] Thank you.

Good morning, everyone.

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