Justice Blackman Shot At Through Window of Home : He Escapes, Wiffe Hit by Glass

Justice Harry A. Blackmun, who has received numerous death threats for writing the high court’s opinion legalizing abortion, today said he was shot at through the window of his home last Thursday night.

In a statement issued by his office, Blackmun said one shot was fired through the front window of his Arlington, Va., apartment on the third floor of a 12-story high-rise.

The incident appears to be the only time a justice has ever been shot at, according to the Supreme Court Historical Society. No justice has been assassinated.

No Injuries

Blackmun, 76, and his wife, Dorothy, were at home at the time the shooting occurred, at about 10 p.m. Neither was hurt.

Blackmun first told the Supreme Court Police Department about the incident, and the investigation of the shooting subsequently was turned over to the FBI.

FBI spokesman Lane Bonner said the bullet, a 9-millimeter cartridge which could have been fired by a pistol or rifle, was recovered from a chair in the Blackmun apartment.

A source familiar with the incident said Blackmun and his wife were sitting in the front room shortly before the shot rang out. Blackmun had just walked out of the room when the shot was fired. Dorothy Blackmun, who was described as “quite upset,” was showered with glass.

The bullet “put a hole in the window about the size of an apple or orange,” the source said.

Numerous Death Threats

Blackmun, who authored the high court’s 1973 ruling legalizing abortion, has received numerous death threats. The most recent threat, another source said, came last week in a typewritten letter.

The letter, postmarked from New York, threatened to “blow the justice’s brains out” and the sender said he would attend Blackmun’s funeral “and laugh.”

Security around Blackmun has been tightened since the incident. He is under near-constant protection, and no longer even touches his mail, sources close to him confirmed.

Last October, Blackmun was threatened by an alleged anti-abortion group called the Army of God, which has claimed responsibility for attacks on abortion clinics around the country.

Denounced in Hate Mail

His office acknowledged that Blackmun continues to receive mail denouncing him for the 1973 abortion ruling. In a 1982 television interview, Blackmun said he had been called “Butcher of Dachau, murderer, Pontius Pilate, King Herod--you name it.”

Last fall, his office said, “The justice has received threatening calls and letters periodically, and they are routinely referred to the police.”

At the time, Blackmun received increased security, with a police officer accompanying him most places he goes inside and outside the court. More police officers were stationed around the court building and inside the courtroom where justices sit publicly to hear oral arguments on pending cases.