On November 1, 1950, two Puerto Rican nationalists, Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola, attempted to assassinate President Harry S. Truman at Blair House in Washington, D.C. Truman and First Lady Bess Truman were living there while the White House underwent extensive structural renovation.
The attackers approached from different directions. Collazo opened fire near the entrance, while Torresola approached the guard booth occupied by White House Police Officer Leslie William Coffelt. Torresola shot Coffelt three times at close range, mortally wounding him, and wounded other officers as the gun battle unfolded outside the residence.
Despite his wounds, Coffelt emerged from his booth and braced himself against it. From roughly 30 feet away, he fired a single shot from his service revolver, striking Torresola in the head and killing him. Coffelt then staggered back into the booth and collapsed. He died later in the hospital.
The brief battle left Torresola dead, Collazo wounded and in custody, and two other White House police officers wounded. Neither attacker entered the residence, and Truman was unharmed.
President Truman and the first lady attended Coffelt’s funeral at Arlington National Cemetery. Coffelt remains the only Secret Service officer to have died defending a president against an assassination attempt. His final act helped stop the attack and protect the president he had sworn to serve.
