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Franz Ferdinand stopped the procession, surveyed the damage, ordered his wounded aide driven quickly to the hospital. Meanwhile Chabrinovitch jumped over the embankment. The Archduke, more disgusted than frightened by this bucolic attempt on his life, said: "Come on. The fellow is crazy. Let us proceed with our program." A board was put over the fragments in the street, a, policeman stood on it to keep peasants from prying, and the three remaining cars drove on to the Town Hall. So the incident ended.
On the way they passed Princip and Grabezh, both of whom lost their nerve with the failure of the first attempt. At the Town Hall the Mayor was waiting. When Franz Ferdinand and Sophie entered he began a speech of welcome. His subject: Bosnian loyalty to the crown. This was too stuffy for Ferdinand. He interrupted: "Enough of that! I make you a visit and you greet me with bombs." Sophie quieted him and the Mayor nervously finished his address.
After the ceremonies, there was a conference. Franz Ferdinand wanted to send Sophie home and go on with his program. Sophie refused to go. An officer suggested that they go to the Governor's residence. "Do you think Sarajevo is full of assassins?" was General Potiorek's squelcher. Finally the Archduke decided to scrap the program which would have taken him to the town museum and to drive straight back to visit his wounded aide in the hospital. As Franz Ferdinand and Sophie again entered their car (see cut, right), he was informed that Chabrinovitch had been collared by police in the dry river bed. "Hang him as soon as you can," he exclaimed bitterly, "or else Vienna will send him a decoration." The procession started back up the quay. Nobody had remembered to tell the chauffeurs about the change of plans. The hour was about 10:45.
Meanwhile Gavrilo Princip had crossed the quay and regained his courage. The first car turned the corner right in front of him. The Archduke's car started to turn also. General Potiorek called: "That's the wrong way. Drive straight down the Appel Quay." The driver put on the brakes. The car came to a full stop in front of Princip.
He lifted his revolver and fired point blank. The bullet pierced the Archduke's neck. Sophie rose to protect her husband. Princip aimed at Potiorek and fired again just as a bystander grabbed his arm. The bullet struck Sophie in the abdomen.
For a moment the Archduke sat straight, apparently unhurt, with his wife slumped across his lap. Then blood ran from his mouth, dark stains appeared on the collar of his green uniform, he crumpled up. Then they hastily drove Franz Ferdinand and Sophie to the Governor's residence just across the river. Both were dead before a doctor or a priest could reach them.
Princip and his fellow conspirators were tried, convicted and sentenced.* In 1918 he died in prison. By the following year his two shots had caused the deaths of some 19,000,000 men in the world's greatest war.
*Princip, Grabezh and Chabrinovitch, too young to receive the death penalty, were sentenced to prison for 20 years.