In 1977 three buildings were seized by a group of armed gunmen, they took 149 hostages and killed radio journalist Maurice Williams. Marion Barry, who would later become the mayor of DC, was shot and wounded during the attack. The assailants wanted the individuals convicted of killing the family of one of the assailants and they wanted the movie Mohammad, Messenger of God canceled because they saw it as sacrilegious. The stand-off ended after 39 hours when the gunman surrendered.