The Day the Queen Was Almost Shot

The Day the Queen Was Almost Shot
A teenager attempted to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II during 1981 New Zealand visit
and police allegedly covered up the assassination attempt to save face https://t.co/Oqe5xVNJuF When the shot rang out in 1981, news reports said, the New Zealand police told the British news media that it was the sound of a sign falling over.
One former officer who was on the case told news outlets
that New Zealand officials were afraid that if anyone knew how close the teenager had come to assassinating the queen of England, no British royal would ever set foot in New Zealand again.
By YONETTE JOSEPH and CHARLOTTE GRAHAM-McLAYMARCH 3, 2018
This much is certain: On Oct. 14, 1981, a teenager armed with a .22 rifle went to the fifth floor of a
building in Dunedin, New Zealand, during a visit by Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip.
The Guardian said "it may be the closest anyone has ever come to assassinating Queen Elizabeth II." Decades later, questions about whether the New Zealand police
and government had covered up the seriousness of the crime still linger.
But the police found a .22-caliber rifle with a discharged cartridge on the fifth floor of a building, just where Mr. Lewis told them they would.
The New Zealand police announced this past week that they would re-examine the case because of the public interest.