34 years ago to the day, Beatles lead singer John Lennon was gunned down and left to die outside his posh New York City apartment on Central Park and 72nd St.
It was an incident that immediately sent shockwaves to the entire world, leaving everyone in utter disbelief. In a split second, the voice of the most popular band in the world was gone for good.
According to a December 1980 report by Rolling Stone Magazine, suspect Mark David Chapman (then only 25 years of age), described as a "local screwball", was charged and arrested for Lennon's murder. Based on witness testimonies, Chapman was spotted along the late Beatle's apartment a few hours after the shooting. Another bystander saw him "hounding Lennon" for autographs a few days prior.
Police reports say that Lennon was with wife Yoko Ono when he was shot several times at point blank range. The couple was said to have come from a recording session, and had just been dropped off by a limousine outside the Dakota when the incident happened.
The Beatle frontman was then rushed to the Roosevelt Hospital in a police car, but it was too late. Then 40 years of age, John Lennon was pronounced dead on arrival.
Three decades after, Paul McCartney spoke about how he felt upon hearing Lennon's death for the first time. The last of the two surviving members of the Beatles shared his story during his appearance on the Jonathan Ross Show.
In the interview, McCartney likened Lennon's killing to that of former United States president John F. Kennedy. But according to the former Beatle bassist, the biggest difference is that the murder was done by a deranged fan, and not by any political motive.
"It was just like, 'This is just a jerk,'" McCartney explained. "This is not even a guy politically motivated. It's just some total random thing, some guy going, 'Hey,' bop."
Watch sir Paul McCartney's interview on the Jonathan Ross Show here:
