Editing Assassination (section)

{{Short description|Murder of a prominent person}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2021}}
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[[File:Lincoln assassination slide c1900 - Restoration.jpg|thumb|alt=Image of Lincoln being shot by Booth while sitting in a theater booth.|Depiction of the [[assassination of Abraham Lincoln]] shown in the presidential booth of Ford's Theatre, from left to right, are assassin [[John Wilkes Booth]], [[Abraham Lincoln]], [[Mary Todd Lincoln]], [[Clara Harris]] and [[Henry Rathbone]].]]

{{Homicide}}
'''Assassination''' is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a person{{Emdash}}especially if [[Very important person|prominent or important]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-24 |title=Definition of ASSASSINATION |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assassination |access-date=2023-06-26 |website=Merriam-Webster |language=en}}</ref><ref>Black's Law Dictionary "the act of deliberately killing someone especially a public figure, usually for money or for political reasons" (''Legal Research, Analysis and Writing'' by William H. Putman [https://books.google.com/books?id=M0nlVU6M26AC p. 215] and {{cite web |url-status=dead |url=http://hir.harvard.edu/leadership/on-the-offensive |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206230433/http://hir.harvard.edu/leadership/on-the-offensive|archive-date=December 6, 2010 |website= Harvard International Review |date=May 6, 2006 |first1=Kristen |last1=Eichensehr |title=On the Offensive — Assassination Policy Under International Law }}</ref> It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, personal, financial, or military [[Motive (law)|motives]].<ref>{{Citation |title=assassination, n. |date=2023-03-02 |work=Oxford English Dictionary |url=https://oed.com/dictionary/assassination_n |access-date=2024-12-05 |edition=3 |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/oed/5671820672}}</ref> 

Assassinations are ordered by both individuals and organizations, and are carried out by their accomplices. Acts of assassination have been performed since [[Ancient history|ancient times]]. A person who carries out an assassination is called an '''assassin'''.<ref>[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assassin ''"Assassin."'' Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary]. Accessed 27 Oct. 2024.</ref>