On February 21, 1965, as Malcolm began to address his audience of the group he had founded (the Organization of Afro-American Unity). , the Black activist and leader Malcolm X was assassinated by three men who rushed the stage carrying pistols and a sawed-off shotgun as he delivered a speech in Manhattan's Audobon Ballroom. During the autopsy, 15 bullet hole were found on Malcolm's body, three gunman were captured and imprisoned soon afterward.The following March, three men -- Talmadge Hayer, Norman Butler, and Thomas Johnson -- were convicted of murdering the 39-year-old black leader.