List of United States Congress members killed or wounded in office


Since the United States Congress was established with the 1st Congress in 1789, fifteen of its members have been killed while in office by people seeking to do them harm, and thirteen members have suffered serious injuries as a result of such attacks. The members of Congress included in these lists were either injured or killed by someone intending to do them serious harm, or there is a serious claim that there was a lethal intent from an unknown assailant. The earliest a member of Congress was killed or wounded while in office was 1827 when Henry Wharton Conway was killed in a duel and the most recent death occurred in 1983 when Korean Air Lines Flight 007, carrying Larry McDonald, was shot down over the Pacific Ocean. The most recent Congress member to be wounded was Rand Paul who was tackled from behind by his neighbor in 2017.
Out of the 15 Congress members killed in office, all of them were male and 10 were Democrats, four were Republicans, and one was a Democratic-Republican. Four members died in duels, and a total of ten died from gunshot wounds.
Thirteen Congress members have been wounded while in office. Six of the wounded were Republicans, five were Democrats, and one member each from the Anti-Jacksonian and Whig parties. Only one was a woman, and only four were senators. Five of those injured were wounded during the 1954 United States Capitol shooting incident.

Lists

Killed

Party colors:

Wounded

Party colors: