Most people don’t know the moment something terrible will strike and they will wind up injured or dead. Whether it’s better to die when you least expect it or when you are better prepared is subjective, but these public figures and victims of tragedy died suddenly with only photo evidence of their last moments.

As tragic as it may be, some of the legacies of these figures have been built around their sudden deaths and the mystery surrounding them. Click to see the last photos snapped of these illustrious people and infamous events before their untimely demise.

John Lennon

John Lennon was killed on December 8th, 1980 just before entering his New York City apartment with his wife Yoko Ono. The two were returning from the recording studio when they were met by “fans” asking for autographs and photos outside of his building. Unbeknownst to the photographer at the time, one of the fans captured one of Lennon’s last moments with his future killer in the background, Mark David Chapman. Chapman shot and killed Lennon a mere ten minutes later at close range.

William “Dave” Sanders

On April 20th, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold terrorized their school, Columbine High School, by opening fire on students and staff after their placed bombs failed to detonate. Before the two perpetrators committed suicide nearly an hour after starting their attack, they killed 12 students and one teacher, and left 24 injured.

The death toll likely would have been much higher if it weren’t for William “Dave” Sanders, a teacher at the school that realized before many others that this was not a senior prank.  He ran through the cafeteria (above) to warn students to run and hide before the two could find them. This proved beneficial because the cafeteria was their main target.

As Sanders ran out of the cafeteria to warn other students, he ran into Klebold and Harris in the hallway, where he was shot twice and died before first responders were able to reach him. He was the only teacher killed that day.