Special Agent William Allen Adkins

William Allen Adkins

Special Agent W.D. Adkins was shot and killed from ambush in the area of Hoop Spur, Phillips County, Arkansas.

Agent Adkins was accompanying a Phillips County sheriff's deputy and a jail trusty to arrest several members of a family who had been involved in a disturbance. During the drive their vehicle suffered a punctured tire and they pulled over in front of the Hoop Spur Church.

Unbeknownst to the officers, black sharecroppers were in the church holding a planning a meeting in an effort to obtain higher payments from white plantation owners in the area. The meeting organizers had placed armed guards around the church to prevent opponents from entering. Believing Agent Adkins and the deputy were there to disrupt the meeting, the men opened fire on them without warning. Agent Adkins was killed and the deputy was wounded.

The events resulted in a large race war in Phillips County over the following weeks in which multiple black and white citizens were killed. Twenty-two people were eventually charged with murder.

Special Agent Adkins was survived by his wife and two children.