Photos: When Martin Luther King Jr. Died

Images from the day King was assassinated.

Dr. King's Assassination\r - The assassination of civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. shocked the world and altered the course of the movement indefinitely. Take a look back at some of the events of days following King's 1968 shooting.

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Dr. King's Assassination\r - The assassination of civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. shocked the world and altered the course of the movement indefinitely. Take a look back at some of the events of days following King's 1968 shooting.

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Moments Before - Dr. King stands alongside Hosea Williams, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Ralph David Abernathy as he greets his supporters the day before his assassination.(Photo: Barney Sellers/Commercial Appeal/Landov)

Assassination - On April 4, 1968, at 6:01 p.m., a single shot was fired at King, who was standing on the balcony of his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.\r(Photo: Commercial Appeal/Landov)

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Assassination - On April 4, 1968, at 6:01 p.m., a single shot was fired at King, who was standing on the balcony of his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.\r(Photo: Commercial Appeal/Landov)

The Balcony - On the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, flowers and pictures adorn a memorial for King at the site where he was assassinated.(Photo: Fred Griffith/Commercial Appeal/Landov)\r\r 

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The Balcony - On the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, flowers and pictures adorn a memorial for King at the site where he was assassinated.(Photo: Fred Griffith/Commercial Appeal/Landov)\r\r 

The Assassin's Bundle? - Pictured is a bundle that was discovered in a doorway of Canipe's Amusement Company in Memphis after Dr. King's fatal shooting. The bundle contained a 30.06 Remington rifle, which officials said later was the weapon that killed the leader. (Photo: Robert Williams/Commercial Appeal/Landov)

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The Assassin's Bundle? - Pictured is a bundle that was discovered in a doorway of Canipe's Amusement Company in Memphis after Dr. King's fatal shooting. The bundle contained a 30.06 Remington rifle, which officials said later was the weapon that killed the leader. (Photo: Robert Williams/Commercial Appeal/Landov)

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Wanted Poster  - The FBI released this wanted poster while on the search for King's suspected assassin, James Earl Ray, who had escaped from a Missouri prison. Ray was on the agency's list of "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives."(Photo: Commercial Appeal/Landov)

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Wanted Poster  - The FBI released this wanted poster while on the search for King's suspected assassin, James Earl Ray, who had escaped from a Missouri prison. Ray was on the agency's list of "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives."(Photo: Commercial Appeal/Landov)

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James Earl Ray - James Earl Ray, King's convicted killer, stands handcuffed at the DeBerry Special Needs Prison Hospital near Nashville.(Photo: REUTERS/SHELBY COUNTY REGISTER OF DEEDS/LANDOV)

Widespread Riots\r - The news of Dr. King's death spawned riots in several big cities across the nation including Chicago, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Kansas City and several others. The riots caused widespread property damage (estimated at more than $10 million), left thousands homeless and hundreds injured, and resulted in the deaths of 11 people. In this photo, suspected looters take items from a drugstore during the West Side Riots, Chicago.\r(Photo: Robert Abbott Sengstacke/Getty Images)

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Widespread Riots\r - The news of Dr. King's death spawned riots in several big cities across the nation including Chicago, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Kansas City and several others. The riots caused widespread property damage (estimated at more than $10 million), left thousands homeless and hundreds injured, and resulted in the deaths of 11 people. In this photo, suspected looters take items from a drugstore during the West Side Riots, Chicago.\r(Photo: Robert Abbott Sengstacke/Getty Images)

Memphis Riot Suspects - In Memphis, firebombing suspects are shown here being searched a couple of days after King's assassination.(Photo: Commercial Appeal/Landov)

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Memphis Riot Suspects - In Memphis, firebombing suspects are shown here being searched a couple of days after King's assassination.(Photo: Commercial Appeal/Landov)

D.C. Riots - Amid destruction and smoldering buildings, soldiers stand guard on a D.C. street.(Photo: Buyenlarge/Getty Images)

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D.C. Riots - Amid destruction and smoldering buildings, soldiers stand guard on a D.C. street.(Photo: Buyenlarge/Getty Images)

RFK Toured D.C. Damage - Sen. Robert F. Kennedy toured the damages resulting from rioting in D.C. A few months later, he himself was assassinated.(Photo: Dennis Brack/Landov)

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RFK Toured D.C. Damage - Sen. Robert F. Kennedy toured the damages resulting from rioting in D.C. A few months later, he himself was assassinated.(Photo: Dennis Brack/Landov)