1984
February 15, Rome
Leamon Ray Hunt, 56 years old, American diplomat
Leamon Ray Hunt was an American official and diplomat, ambassador, and former director of the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) as well as the logistics manager for the Sinai Multinational Force and Observer Group.
Hunt worked in various diplomatic positions throughout his career: he served as the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon and as the deputy assistant secretary of state for operations before his appointment as the first director-general of the MFO in July 1981. In this role, he appointed Norwegian Lieutenant General Fredrik V. Bull-Hansen as the first commander of the MFO force. Hunt established a provisional headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, and began planning the infrastructure for the group in Sinai. He also took care to establish the hierarchical and logistical structures of the organization.
He was assassinated by a group of militants from the militaristic wing of the Red Brigades, the BR-PCC (Communist Combatant Party). He was the first American official to be killed by terrorists in Italy and the seventh diplomat to die a violent death in the country since 1976.
On February 15, 1984, at 6:45 PM, while returning home, Hunt stopped at the entrance gate. While he was waiting for the gate to open, three armed men exited a Fiat 128 across the street and opened fire with automatic weapons on Hunt’s armored Alfa Romeo. None of the bullets penetrated the car’s armor, but one of the attackers jumped onto the rear hood and fired at the top edge of the rear window. One of the .32 ACP (7.65 mm Browning) bullets penetrated the rubber and metal seal and struck Hunt in the head. He was transported to the hospital but died an hour later.