His death was untimely and evoked shock and deep sadness around the world. Lennon continues to be respected and cherished, even today, by new generations of admirers and fans.
Lennon was fatally wounded as he and Ono were returning to the Dakota after a radio interview. The fan who shot Lennon had met him that evening and asked for an autograph that Lennon duly gave him.
As Ono and Lennon approached the entrance of the Dakota, he was shot in the back four times with a .38 special revolver. A police car rushed Lennon to Roosevelt Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
John Lennon was shots by Mark David Chapman. Chapman had been a fan of Lennon but grew resentment towards him looking at his lavish lifestyle and lyrics of the songs “Imagine” and “God.”
He did not have any previous criminal convictions but admitted to having contemplated killing other famous figures, including Elizabeth Taylor, Ronald Reagan, Paul McCartney, and Johnny Carson.
In Chapman’s own words, “He told us to imagine no possessions and there he was, with millions of dollars and yachts and farms and country estates, laughing at people like me.”