John Lennon was shot and killed by Mark David Chapman outside Lennon’s New York City apartment building, the Dakota, on December 8, 1980. Chapman is still in prison today and has repeatedly been denied parole.

Who shot John Lennon

Mark David Chapman, an American man born in 1955, waited outside the Dakota apartment building and fired five shots at Lennon as he returned home with Yoko Ono, hitting him four times in the back and shoulder. Lennon was rushed to Roosevelt Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

Is he still in jail

Chapman was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 20 years to life in prison in 1981. He has had multiple parole hearings since 2000 and, as of 2025, has been denied parole 14 times and remains incarcerated in New York state.