防盜殺死官Michael沃爾什

這是上週日的早上非常冷, 十二月 5, 1880, about 2 上午, when St. Louis Police Officer Sheehan found the front door open to John R. Lionberger’s home. 由於嚴寒, 希恩擔心竊賊已進入住所. 希恩多次按響了門鈴，但不能喚醒裡面的人.

Sheehan began rapping his night stick against the pavement, which summoned Officer Michael Walsh from his adjoining beat. While Officer Walsh stood guard at the Lionberger’s front door, Officer Sheehan went to wake up the stable man. The stable man agreed to light a lamp and take Sheehan through the Lionberger home.

Sheehan returned to speak with Walsh, while he was waiting for the stable man. As they were speaking, they heard night sticks rapping on the pavement. The officers realized the burglary team, which had been working in the Downtown area for the past few weeks, was at work. 然而, the officers decided to stay and search the Lionberger house.

When the stable man approached the officers with a lamp, 希恩和馬夫偷偷地進入了房子. 沃爾什在外面守衛. 他告訴希恩他會阻止任何來到街上的人, 因為他們的搜索和鄰近地區的潛在竊盜案.

馬夫喚醒了約翰·萊恩伯格和他的兒子. 快速搜查了房子之後, 萊恩伯格說竊賊沒有拿走任何東西. Sheehan 及時走出前門，看到 Walsh 警官正接近 16 街和 Olive 街東南角的兩名男子. 萊恩伯格的家位於東北角.

當沃爾什接近一個矮個子男人和一個高個子男人時, 高個子男人拔出一把左輪手槍, 用槍指著沃爾什的頭，冷酷地開槍射殺了他. 沃爾什的槍在他的後口袋裡. 由於天氣寒冷, 沃爾什完全扣好厚外套的釦子. Walsh also wore heavy gloves. Walsh could not have drawn his revolver if he wanted to.

Sheehan chased the killer north to 18th Street, while he fired shots at the fleeing men. At one point, the shooter turned and calmly fired at Sheehan. After missing the officer, he began running again. Sheehan lost the murderer at the alley near 18th Street. All the investigating officers found was one frozen footprint.

Sheehan returned to the scene, where the Lionbergers had placed Walsh’s lifeless body in a carriage. A doctor pronounced Walsh dead at the City Hospital.

聖. Louis Police discovered that the burglars had burglarized five saloons and a grocery store near the Lionberger home. The detectives suspected burglars killed Walsh when he stumbled upon the burglars coming from the earlier burglaries. 後來, investigators proved this theory true.

The burglars did not break into the Lionberger home. A strong wind must have blown the partially closed front door open. The burglars skipped the other Lucas Place residences as well. The burglars only broke into commercial businesses that night.

Police often solve crimes by being in the right place at the right time. 不幸的是, officers can also run into criminals unaware, and sometimes, 與悲劇性的結果.

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Sources: 聖. 聖路易斯郵報, 十二月 6, 1880, 版, P. 7

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