Turkey releases gunman who shot pope in 1981

After nearly 30 years behind bars, the Turkish man who tried to assassinate Pope John Paul II walked out of a prison a free man Monday and promptly predicted the end of the world.

Now a gray-haired 52-year-old, Mehmet Ali Agca declared himself the "Christ eternal" and prophesied that humanity would be wiped out this century, in a statement passed out to a scrum of television cameras and waiting reporters in Ankara, the Turkish capital.

Later, the hollow-cheeked Agca, who has spent more of his life in prison than out, was declared mentally disturbed by doctors who exempted him from mandatory military service, the Associated Press reported.

Agca shot John Paul several times on May 13, 1981, as the pontiff waved at followers while riding in his open-backed jeep through St. Peter's Square in Rome. Bystanders screamed in horror as the pope was whisked away with serious wounds to his hand, arm and abdomen.