Shot heard around the world: Bullet fired from gun that killed John Lennon up for sale
A bullet fired from the revolver used in the murder of John Lennon in New York in 1980 is expected to fetch up to STG2000 ($A3866) when it goes under the hammer in England on Thursday.
FILE - Singer John Lennon appears during a press conference at the Hotel Americana on May 13, 1968, in New York. Mark David Chapman, the man who shot and killed Lennon outside his Manhattan apartment building in 1980 has been denied parole for a 12th time, New York corrections officials said Monday, Sept. 12, 2022. (AP Photo, File)
Auctioneers Anderson and Garland are selling the souvenir on behalf of the family of Brian Taylor, a British policeman who served with England’s Northumbria force.
Taylor was permitted to fire the weapon during a 1984 visit to the New York Police Department. He himself had come under fire while travelling in a police car during the visit, and as an apology he was shown a small police museum where the revolver was kept.
“There he was allowed to fire the weapon that fired the bullets that shot one of music’s best and most beloved stars, John Lennon. The bullet and cartridge were retrieved and given to Taylor as a gift. He had them mounted and hung it on the wall of his office for the remainder of his career,” the auction house said on its website.
The frame includes a photograph of Taylor in uniform holding the revolver.
The family decided the item should be passed on to another fan of the Beatles singer, the Newcastle upon Tyne auction house said.
Lennon’s assassin, Mark David Chapman, who is now 68, is serving a life sentence.
