[1] On 14 October 1981, 17-year-old Lewis had been tracking the New Zealand tour of the royal family, who were to visit Otago Museum in Dunedin.

Lewis concealed a .22 (5.6 mm) calibre rifle wrapped up in an old pair of jeans, and travelled by bicycle to the Adams Building, where he took up a position in a toilet cubicle.

The shot did not impact near the Queen or anyone else, but a loud crack was heard; local police told journalists that the noise had been caused by a sign falling down.

[3][4] While Lewis did not have a proper vantage point nor a sufficiently powerful rifle for his purposes, a 1997 report by the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service notes that his intent was to kill the Queen.

[5] Lewis unsuccessfully attempted to escape from a psychiatric ward in 1983, when the Prince and Princess of Wales, Charles and Diana, toured New Zealand with their son William.