Gavrilo Princip was born between June and July 1894, in city of Obljaj, Bosnia. The son of a postman and living a poor childhood, Gavrilo had eight siblings, six of whom died before reaching adulthood. After completing his studies in the cities of Sarajevo and Tuzla, he moved to Belgrade in 1912. Before this move, the young student was already affiliated with a radical nationalist group called the “Black Hand”.
Inspired by ideals contrary to the Austro-Hungarian presence in their country, the organization “Black Hand” defended the territorial union of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia. Among its leaders was Dragutin Dimitrijevic, head of the Serbian army's intelligence service. Seeking to achieve his revolutionary goals, Dragutin sent Nedjelko Cabrinovic, Trifko Grabez and Gavrilo Princip on a risky mission that was to assassinate the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
According to the pre-established plan, after murdering the Archduke, the three members of the terrorist action should commit suicide. To carry out the stages of the entire action, the Black Hand terrorists received revolvers, grenades and small doses of cyanide. With all three involved affected by irreversible tuberculosis, the secret about the authorship of the attacks would be safe.
Even having news about the possible assassination attempt on the Austro-Hungarian Archduke, the Serbian Prime Minister did not take more incisive measures against the terrorist plan. On June 28, 1914, the delegation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was received by the Serbian general Potiorek. After the brief reception, the political and military leaders would meet for the solemnities and speeches that would mark the visit of Francisco Ferdinando.
In the meantime, about seven members of the Black Hand were strategically distributed along the path traced by the Austro-Hungarian entourage. At one point, Nedjelko Cabrinovic, a member of the Black Hand, threw a grenade at Archduke Franz Ferdinand's car. The driver of the car, realizing the terrorist's action, managed to divert the vehicle from the grenade, which hit another car in the entourage.
Following the instructions of the Black Hand commanders, Nedjelko took a cyanide capsule and launched himself into the Miljacka River. Suffering no effects from the capsule, which probably did not contain cyanide, the terrorist was soon captured by authorities. Arriving at the ceremony, stunned by the attack he had suffered, Francisco Ferdinando interrupted the speech of the mayor of Sarajevo shouting:“What is the benefit of your speeches? I come to Sarajevo on a visit, and I have bombs thrown at me. This is outrageous!”
Changing the plans of his visit, the Archduke decided to visit the members of his entourage affected by the bombing. Preventing another possible terrorist event, General Potiorek plotted an alternative access to the hospital. However, the driver of the Archduke's chariot was not informed of the changes, following the path originally traced. Potiorek, who was in the same car as the Archduke, warned the driver to change his route at Franz Joseph Street.
Gavrilo Princip, who was at a coffee shop just down the street, took the opportunity to execute his plan. From a distance of less than two meters, Gavrilo fired a string of shots that targeted the Archduke in the neck and his wife in the abdomen. The couple died on the way to the governor's house. The terrorist, after committing the crime, attempted suicide by taking his gun to his head. Before firing, Gavrilo was intercepted by an unknown man aided by police authorities.
After that, Gavrilo Princip was taken to the local police station. Accused of treason, Princip and eight others involved were formally indicted by the authorities. Under Austro-Hungarian law, the death penalty could be applied for such a crime to anyone over twenty years of age.
However, the lack of information on the age of Gavrilo Princip prevented such a penalty from being applied. Ultimately, the terrorist was sentenced to twenty years in prison. The sentence was not fully served, as, in a short time, Gavrilo Princip died of tuberculosis on April 28, 1918.