NEW YORK (AP) — John Lennon, the singer-songwriter who helped make the Beatles musical superstars and pop-culture legends in the 1960s, was killed in a late-night spray of gunfire outside his luxury apartment building.

He was the co-author with Paul McCartney of such famous songs as "I Want to Hold Your Hand/' "Yesterday" and "Let it Be." Minutes after the shots rang out, police took a suspect into custody. Early today, they charged Mark David Chapman, 25, of Hawaii, with murder. No motive was known immediately.