Frank B. Wise, 42, general manager, saved an indeterminate number of persons from a homicidal attack, Washington, D. C., March 1, 1954. While the House of Representatives was in session, with about 225 Members on the floor and more than 150 persons in the galleries of the hall, three men and a woman each holding a pistol stood up together in one of the galleries. The four were members of an extremist Puerto Rican political group. Without warning, they fired at least 20 shots downward toward the floor of the House. Five House Members were wounded, two of them seriously; and others narrowly missed being struck as they took what cover they could behind seats. The woman and one of the men discarded their guns and left the gallery; but the two other assailants, who stood near each other in the top row of the gallery sought to reload their pistols. Wise, who got up from his gallery seat while the firing was in progress, ascended to the top row and seized one of the assailants, pinioning his arms to his sides. The assailant struggled continuously to break free; but Wise, maintaining his hold, swung the man around. With his back to the other assailant, Wise pushed the man to the entranceway of the gallery and thence through swinging doors to a corridor. Hall attendants and others then seized the assailant. Under the weight of these men, the assailant dropped to the floor. He finally was subdued and disarmed. Wise, who had remained at the doorway, saw the other assailant leaving the gallery still holding his gun and flung his arms around the man to try to pinion his arms. Almost simultaneously a policeman and others got hold of the man and disarmed him. The two other assailants were apprehended, and all were sentenced to long prison terms. 43163-3934
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