Martin Luther King Jr. died from an assassination by firearm. On April 4, 1968, at 6:01 p.m. CST, he was shot while standing on the balcony outside his second-floor room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee
. The bullet struck his right cheek, breaking his jaw, and caused fatal injuries to his neck and spinal cord, leading to hemorrhagic shock and death
. After being shot, King was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where despite medical efforts, he was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m.
. The assassin was James Earl Ray, an escaped convict who was arrested two months later and pleaded guilty to the murder
. King's assassination was a pivotal moment in U.S. history, sparking widespread outrage and civil unrest across the country
