Mehmet ali agca biography definition

The man who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981 has been set free after nearly 30 years behind bars.

But facts are few, and theories many, as to what Mehmet Ali Agca's motives might have been.

Mehmet ali agca biography definition

Born in 1958 in Malatya province in eastern Turkey, Agca was a member of street gangs and involved in petty crime in his youth.

He became a smuggler between Turkey and Bulgaria, and then went to Syria, where he says he received weaponry and terrorist training which he claimed was funded by Bulgaria.

In 1979, while part of a Turkish ultra-nationalistic group called the Grey Wolves, Agca killed Abdi Ipekci, a prominent newspaper editor.

While awaiting trial for that crime, he escaped from prison to Bulgaria and was sentenced in his absence.

Three bullets

He reappeared in St Peter's Square in the Vatican on 13 May 1981.

He opened fire on the Pope as he was being driven across the square