Schaufelberger was a graduate of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, class of 1971 and was an avid (150 lb) American football and lacrosse player while in college.

[2] A group under the umbrella of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), the Central American Revolutionary Workers' Party (PRTC), is thought to have carried out the act.

Schaufelberger had been dating the manager of a cooperative store, Consuelo Escalante Aguilera,[3] for several months and developed a routine of picking her up at the same time and place.

Ms. Aguilera exited her office and observed what she believed to be a white Volkswagen microbus pull up and stop near Schaufelberger's car.

Previous pictures of Schaufelberger had been taken by the Magnum Photo Agency in Paris for a syndicated feature story on the escalating U.S. military involvement in the region.