Archive · 9 Oct 2026
Malala Yousafzai Survived a Taliban Attack at 15
Malala Yousafzai was 15 and riding a school bus in Pakistan.
On October 9, 2012, a masked gunman got onto the bus.
He asked which girl was Malala and then fired three shots.
One bullet seriously wounded Malala.
Two of her classmates were wounded too.
The people who planned the attack thought they could stop her.
Instead, the attack made people around the world learn about her.
On October 9, 2012, a masked gunman boarded a school bus in Pakistan’s Swat Valley.
The gunman asked, “Who is Malala?” before firing three shots.
One bullet struck 15-year-old Malala Yousafzai in the head, passed through her neck, and lodged in her shoulder.
Two of Malala’s classmates were also wounded in the attack.
The article says the attackers intended to silence Malala, but the attack instead brought her to the world’s attention.
- Who
- Malala Yousafzai, two of her classmates, and a masked gunman.
- What
- A gunman boarded a school bus and shot Malala; two classmates were also wounded.
- When
- October 9, 2012.
- Where
- A school bus in Pakistan’s Swat Valley.
- Why
- The article says the attackers believed they were silencing a schoolgirl they considered troublesome.
- Date
- October 9, 2012
- Location
- Swat Valley, Pakistan
- Malala’s age
- 15
- Shots fired
- Three
- Malala’s injury
- A bullet struck the left side of her head, travelled through her neck, and lodged in her shoulder.
- Other people wounded
- Two of Malala’s classmates