 However, president Sánchez Cerro was assassinated with several shots at point-blank range on April 30, 1933 in the Campo de Marte of Lima.The perpetrator of the assassination was an APRA member identified as Alejandro Mendoza Leyva, who was killed on the spot, although the APRA leadership could not be syndicated as the intellectual author of the crime, due to lack of evidence.After the death of Sánchez Cerro, former president and general Óscar R. Benavides took office, who expressed hope in "peace and harmony" for Peru.