Bernhard Goetz is escorted by police on March 28, 1985, after being indicted for the shooting of four teenagers on a subway train.
Violence seemed to be everywhere in the America of the 1980s, and not just in the cities. But it was more evident in cities than elsewhere, and the reactions to it were manifesting themselves as well. On a subway train in New York City on the afternoon of December 22, 1984, four black teenagers surrounded Bernhard Goetz and asked him to ?lend? them five dollars. Instead he pulled a gun from his pocket and shot them all. His action aroused an immediate and furious controversy. Thousands of Americans applauded his act, feeling that he was taking a stand against those who wanted only to rob and maim. Public officials, on the other hand, denounced Goetz as a reckless vigilante.
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Mitchell Trapper?AP/Wide World Photos