The 1958 stabbing that nearly killed Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Note: The images and descriptions in this article may be considered disturbing to some readers.
On Sept. 20, 1958, 29-year-old Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was in Blumstein’s Department Store in Harlem, signing copies of Stride Toward Freedom, his account of the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott which he spearheaded.
Izola Curry, a well-dressed 42-year-old woman, approached the reverend and asked if it was really him. When he replied yes, she said, “I’ve been looking for you for five years,” and plunged a letter opener into his chest.