It’s for the Love of a Man that I’m Gonna have to Die

• Two police cars arrived at an apartment on Oak Ridge Drive in the windswept Missouri city of Joplin late on April 13, 1933.

  • Five notorious outlaws, including Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, who made up the Barrow Gang, resided in the rented apartment.

  • After committing a number of armed robberies and kidnappings in Missouri and neighboring states, the gang had spent the previous 12 days hiding.

• Barrow grabbed his favorite firearm, a M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle, and fired through a broken window as police shouted for the occupants to leave.

  • His mistress Parker fired cover fire with her own weapon, shattering the nearby trees.

  • In the midst of the hail of gunfire, the gang killed Detective Harry McGinnis and Constable J.W. Harryman, two Missouri police officers.

• As they fled, Bonnie and Clyde left behind an arsenal of weapons, handwritten poems by Parker, and rolls of undeveloped film. These items would help the young lovers become folk heroes and ultimately bring about their downfall.

The Superstars

• The American public was titillated by their four-year criminal spree, which included bank robberies and police killings.

  • However, the Barrow Gang's crimes were characterized by narrow escapes, botched robberies, and fatal injuries, far from their romanticized image.

• Between 1931 and 1935, known as the "Public Enemy Era," a number of high-profile criminals caused significant harm across the US against the backdrop of the Great Depression. At the time, the FBI was still a fledgling organization without the authority to combat interstate bank robberies and kidnappings.

• Parker and Barrow hit it off right away when they first met in 1930, and she became his devoted companion.

  • Barrow was detained for breaking and entering shortly after their romance began and was transferred to the Texas prison facility at Eastham. He committed his first murder there, beating an inmate who had assaulted him with a lead pipe.

  • Barrow escaped from the prison after Parker smuggled a gun inside, but he was later caught.

The Spree Begins

• In February 1932, Barrow was released on parole, a jaded and bitter criminal seeking vengeance on the prison system for the mistreatment he endured behind bars.

  • After reuniting with Parker, Barrow put together a shifting core of accomplices and started robbing rural gas stations and kidnapping and killing people when they got caught.

• Between 1932 and 1934, the gang is suspected of killing several civilians as well as at least nine police officers.

  • In April 1932, following a robbery, Barrow shot and killed the owner of a store, leading to his first official accusation of murder.

  • A few months later, at an Oklahoma country dance, Barrow and another gang member shot and wounded a sheriff who tried to stop them.

  • It was the first time a Barrow Gang member had murdered a law enforcement official.

• In April 1933, Buck, Clyde's brother, was released from jail. After 12 days of loud, alcohol-filled parties, he and his bride, Blanche, joined the group at the apartment in Joplin, Missouri, finally drawing the attention of the police.

  • After the shootout, the gang gained notoriety that made it harder for them to avoid capture. They were now being sought after by the police, the press, and a curious public.

• The group spent the following three months camping as they traveled from Texas to Minnesota and Indiana.

  • They committed crimes near state borders such as bank robberies, kidnappings, and car thefts to take advantage of the pre-FBI "state line rule," which forbade officers from crossing state lines while pursuing fugitives.

Public Opinion

• The killings eventually turned so ruthless that the public's fascination with the pair soured. Captain Frank Hamer, a former Texas Ranger, was given the mission by the Texas Department of Corrections to bring the Barrow Gang to justice.

  • Hamer assembled a posse made up of a rare combination of Texas and Louisiana law enforcement personnel. One of the most intense and widely covered manhunts in US history took place during this time.

• The gang started disbanding by the summer of 1933.

  • Then, on June 10, Barrow accidentally flipped their car into a ravine while driving close to Wellington, Texas, resulting in Parker receiving third-degree burns to her right leg.

  • She was unable to walk due to her injuries, and Barrow frequently carried her.

• On July 19, in Missouri, during a shootout with police, Buck was hit in the head by a bullet.

  • Despite his terrible wounds, Buck remained conscious and he and the rest of the gang escaped. Blanche was also wounded and had one eye go blind.

The Trail Ends

• On July 24, Buck was wounded in the back during a different shootout, and both he and Blanche were taken prisoner.

  • After having surgery, Buck was taken to the hospital where he later passed away from pneumonia. However, not before doctors had given him stimulant injections so he could cooperate with police.

• The trail of Barrow and Parker came to an end on State Highway 154, south of Sails, where it passed through the Piney Forest of Louisiana.

  • The posse of police officers, led by Hamer, had followed and analyzed the pair's movements and learned that the gang camped on the outskirts of state borders.

• Hamer predicted the couple's behavior using information about their location and set up an ambush point along the country road in rural Louisiana.

  • On May 23, 1934, at about 9:15 a.m., six officers hiding in the bushes spotted Barrow's stolen Ford V8 coming toward them at a high rate of speed. They then fired 130 rounds into the vehicle.

  • After receiving numerous gunshot wounds, Barrow and Parker both died.

• People gathered around the bullet-riddled Ford as it was being towed into town with the bodies still inside.

  • Pieces of Parker's bloody clothing and hair were among the mementos spectators collected.

  • Even one of the men attempted to amputate Barrow's trigger finger.

  • Members of the posse also kept and later sold stolen firearms and a saxophone that belonged to the couple.

• Officer Prentiss Oakley of Louisiana, who fired the opening shot, later expressed regret over not giving the outlaws the opportunity to turn themselves in.

  • The bloody demise of Bonnie and Clyde marked the end of the 1930s' "Public Enemy Era."

  • By the summer of 1934, federal legislation had been passed making kidnapping and bank robbery federal offenses. This was a significant legal development that allowed FBI agents to capture bandits across state lines.

Celebrity Criminals

• Bonnie and Clyde became the first well-known criminals of the Great Depression, in part as a result of the extensive press and radio coverage of their crimes.

• George "Baby Face" Nelson and "Pretty Boy" Floyd, two outlaws whose grisly exploits were chronicled on the front pages of newspapers all over the nation, also rose to legendary status.

  • A disillusioned and incensed public, suffering from unemployment and extreme poverty, held the gangsters in high regard during this time, with magazines, newspapers, and radio programs chronicling their day-to-day antics.

• The 1967 Oscar-winning movie Bonnie and Clyde, which brought the couple's exploits to the attention of a new generation, contributed to the legend of Bonnie and Clyde's expansion.

  • Because of how casually sex and violence were presented, it was regarded as groundbreaking.

  • However, such a romanticized portrayal raised unsettling issues because several couples have gone on similar rampages while claiming to be inspired by the infamous outlaws.

Related Crimes

• In July 14, 1881, Sheriff Pat Garrett shoots "Billy the Kid" to death in Fort Sumner, New Mexico.

• In February 3, 1889, Myra Maybelle Starr (Belle Starr), is assassinated near King Creek, Oklahoma.

• In July 22, 1934, while fleeing from arrest, John Dillinger, a Depression-era gangster and notorious bank robber, is killed by federal agents.

• In November 27, 1934, FBI agents assassinate George "Baby Face" Nelson, a bank robber and gangster who was labeled "Public Enemy Number One" at the time.