WASHINGTON (AP) — A penny-size bullet hole marks the desk used by Republicans when they speak on the floor of the House, a memento of the worst terrorist attack against Congress.
On March 1, 1954, four Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire from the visitors' gallery above the chamber. They sprayed some 30 shots around the hall and wounded five lawmakers, one seriously.
Amazingly, no one was killed even though some 240 members were on the floor at the time of the shooting, which happened 50 years ago Monday.
It was a stunning act of violence in a body that, despite its openness to the public, had been relatively violence-free in its first century and a half.
For the first time, lawmakers are considering legislation on how to reorganize Congress in the event of a catastrophic attack that would kill or incapacitate hundreds of lawmakers.