The Hostage-Taking Wave of 1977

Though the Kiritsis incident was unique for Indianapolis, it was by no means isolated. This archival video features an ABC News report from July 5, 1977 just one day after Luis Robinson took two dozen people hostage on a bus in New York. From Kiritsis in early February 1977 to Robinson on July 4, there were at least five cases in the U.S. where armed assailants held hostages for some period of time while trying to negotiate with law enforcement. In one case, just a month after Kiritsis took Dick Hall hostage, the hostage-taker also held a press conference for the media.