When the entourage reached the Port Kaituma airstrip between 4:30 p.m. and 4:45 p.m., the planes were supposed to be there, but they had not appeared yet. The group had to wait, until the aircraft landed at approximately 5:10 p.m. Then the boarding process began.
Larry Layton was a passenger on the Cessna, the first aircraft to set up for takeoff. After the Cessna had taxied to the far end of the airstrip, Layton produced a gun and started shooting at the passengers. He wounded Monica Bagby and Vernon Gosney, and tried to kill Dale Parks, who disarmed him.
At this time, some passengers had boarded the larger Twin Otter. A tractor with a trailer attached driven by members of the Temple's Red Brigade security squad approached the Otter. When the tractor neared within approximately 30 feet (9.1 m) of the Otter, roughly concurrent with the shootings on the Cessna, the Red Brigade opened fire on the aircraft while at least two Red Brigade members circled the plane on foot. There were perhaps nine shooters whose identities are not all certainly known, but most sources agree that Joe Wilson, Jones' head of security, Thomas Kice Sr., and Ronnie Dennis were among them.
A few seconds of the shooting were captured on ENG videotape by NBC cameraman Bob Brown. Congressman Ryan, cameraman Bob Brown, photographer Greg Robinson, NBC reporter Don Harris and Temple defector Patricia Parks were killed in the few minutes of shooting. Jackie Speier, Steve Sung, Richard Dwyer, Tim Reiterman and Anthony Katsaris were among the nine injured in and around the Twin Otter. After the shootings, the Cessna's pilot, along with the pilot and copilot of the Otter, fled in the Cessna to Georgetown, leaving behind the gunfire-damaged Otter and the injured Ryan delegation members.
The murder of Congressman Ryan was the first and only murder of a Congressman in the line of duty in the history of the United States, although there have been other assassination attempts on Members of Congress.
How have you been? I am doing fine and so is Carolyn and Kimo. I have been busy as I could be, enjoying myself here in the jungle. Mom and Dad have probably shown you the latest about the conspiracy information that Mark Lane, the famous attorney in the M.L. King case and Don Freed the other famous author in the Kennedy case have come up with regarding activities planned against us – Peoples Temple. They both were out here to visit, both enjoyed the place and want to return. A lot of new and interesting things should be coming out soon that will show the different attempts to destroy our group. Dick Gregory and Ralph Abernathy are on their way over to visit, also. What’s interesting is that it is all coming out before we are all dead, not the case with JFK, RFK, and MLK. So whatever comes, all the treacherous lies that have been printed and publicized about us don’t really bother me because I am having a grand old time here. I would think those telling the lies back there must be miserable themselves with such vast attempts they try to make the rest of us miserable. At any rate I have been playing my 12-string in a Country Folk Blues Band here and we have a good time. I also have a Classical $300.00 Aria of my friend Larry, who is head M.D. down here and it is a beautiful guitar. There’s also a honky tonk group which we sometimes get together and boogie on the piano with. One of my friends works in the art studio which is a building with one wall which blocks the tropical rains and the rest is open, overlooking citrus orchards and banana trees. It is a beautiful sight. Mom and Dad must have some pictures for you to see. It is a perfect spot for an art studio – very picturesque & inspiring. The thick bush is further back beyond the banana trees and is so lush I really can’t describe the beauty. It would be hard for me to live in any city after living here. The children are so happy. They have a creatively made playground plus acres and acres of outdoors to play in and no muggings or car accidents to worry about. I sometimes wonder how they ever made it, living in the cement walls of San Francisco. One place they really love is the swimming hole. (It is almost like watching a Tarzan movie.) Young & old alike love it. Mom and Dad should tell you about it sometime if they haven’t already. Well take care – I’m sorry it’s been so long since I have written. My nursing responsibilities are also keeping me busy and I am learning new things daily. Love from,
Annie, Carolyn & Kimo" [source: http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/AboutJonestown/PrimarySources/Anni...] http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/AboutJonestown/PrimarySources/Anni... http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/AboutJonestown/PrimarySources/prim... http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/ [edit: Annie and her sister, Carolyn (L): http://gallery.skcentral.com/albums/userpics/10056/JT-1978-0...] [edit 2:
Her last letter: http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/AboutJonestown/PrimarySources/anni... (Note the last line about change of ink/pen of the final sentence.)]
"The killing of the Congressman at the airstrip had all the earmarks of a professional military hit. How do we know? The eyewitness journalists who wrote of the assassination described it as "silent, calm, brutal, carefully planned and mercilessly executed’" by well-trained killers. There were never any reliable eyewitness identifications of the assassins. The official government eyewitness, Jim Cobb, admitted to the press that he never even had the shooters in his line of vision! The final tape at Jonestown repeatedly denied any knowledge of the identity of the Congressman’s assassins, and probing further, it said of the people who brought the report from the airstrip, "They saw it happen, and ran into the bush…" In other words, the people from Jonestown were not the shooters, but witnesses. And given the layout of the airstrip, they would have been looking at the shooters’ backs, not their faces. To this day, the assassins have not been identified." [edit: pull quote]
Shooting a rifle is very easy, and shooting someone at 30 feet is even easier. If they were on an airstrip, you wouldn't need to get nearly so close if you had shot a rifle before. The fact that the pilot and co-pilots escaped indicates that they were either let go (why?) or this was sloppy and botched. And why would they make noise? Shotguns at 30 feet are pretty basic. Jackie Speier (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Speier) was shot 5 times and lived to tell about it (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/16/...). Someone wanted her dead enough to shoot her at close range, but didn't know how to do it properly. I'm going with Occum's Razor on this one.