BBC - Infamous Assassinations (2007) Part 6 John Paul II

Get ready to witness the 20th Century's most damaging and outrageous assassination attempts, first-hand. From the assassination of John F Kennedy to the gunning down of Mahatma Gandhi, the tragic shooting of John Lennon to the brutal bombing of one of Hitler's henchmen, the BBC series Infamous Assassinations brings you as close to the killers as the cameramen themselves - which sometimes means just a few feet.

Using rare archive footage and reconstructions, each episode of this BBC documentary series focuses on a different story, from attacks on royalty, politicians and guerrilla leaders to media personalities who all, for one reason or another, stepped in the way of an assassin determined to bring their life to an end. Many of their motives have remained shrouded in mystery. Until now…

Part 6: Attempt on Pope John Paul II

Rome, 1981

On 13 May 1981, in front of a crowd of 20,000 people in St Peter's Square, a young Turkish gunman shot the Polish Pope, possibly at the behest of the Russians who were concerned at the inspiration he was providing to Poland and the Solidarity Movement.