Griselio Torresola

Griselio Torresola was one of two Puerto Rican nationalists who attempted to kill President Harry S. Truman at Blair House. His role in the attack was direct: he approached the guard booth where Leslie Coffelt was stationed and opened fire, before Coffelt brought him down with a single shot.

Identity and Purpose

Torresola was twenty-five and came from New York. He and Oscar Collazo, who was thirty-six, were both Puerto Ricans and committed nationalists. They arrived in dark suits and hats, looking so subdued that a hotel clerk near Union Station had mistaken them for divinity students. The contrast between that unremarkable appearance and their purpose defines Torresola’s brief appearance in the episode: the two men had decided to kill the President in order to draw attention to their cause. Torresola carried a German Luger; together, the men had sixty-nine rounds of ammunition.

The Diversion and Exchange of Fire

At 2:19, Torresola paused beside Coffelt’s guard booth and spoke loudly, apparently to draw attention westward while Collazo passed the other sentry post and advanced toward the Blair House entrance. The maneuver split the guards’ attention: Birdzell was looking toward Torresola when Collazo attempted to fire at him. Once the shooting began, Torresola opened fire on Coffelt at close range, then turned toward Joseph Downs at the basement door. Downs was hit but managed to get inside and call for help.

The exchange lasted only minutes, but involved twenty-seven shots in two minutes. After Collazo fell near the front step, Torresola turned toward Birdzell, who was by the streetcar tracks and still returning fire despite being wounded. Coffelt, already gravely injured, managed to fire the shot that stopped Torresola. The gunfire ended abruptly, and police, Secret Service agents, reporters, photographers, and a crowd of onlookers soon converged on Blair House.

Death and Immediate Aftermath

Torresola was killed at Blair House, while Collazo survived. The sudden end of the attack gave way to a brief, uneasy silence before police, Secret Service agents, reporters, photographers, and a crowd gathered. Ambulances moved through the throng, traffic backed up for blocks, and a rumor spread that Harry S. Truman had been murdered.

Truman came downstairs and saw police around Collazo as Charlie Ross made his way through the crowd toward the entrance. Asked whether he would still go to Arlington, Truman answered, “Why, of course.” About fifteen minutes later, he left by the back door, followed by Secret Service men, and his limousine crossed the Potomac. The contrast between the confusion surrounding Torresola’s death and the President’s continuation of his plans closed the episode without changing its outcome: Torresola was dead, Collazo remained alive, and Truman departed Blair House.

Narrative Role

Torresola’s place in the account is defined by a sharp contrast: an appearance so inconspicuous that a hotel clerk took him and Collazo for divinity students, and a plan to kill the President in order to draw attention to their cause. The narrative gives him no extended personal history; instead, it follows the part he plays in the coordinated attack, first diverting attention toward Coffelt’s booth and then firing on the guards. That role ends in an abrupt reversal: Coffelt, whom Torresola had attacked, stops him with a single shot. The attempt never reaches Truman, and the President leaves Blair House for his planned trip to Arlington, leaving Torresola’s brief appearance as a failed act of political violence rather than a change in the course of the day.