Patrolman James Hugh Carroll

James Hugh Carroll

Patrolman James Carroll and Patrolman James Henry were shot and killed while inside a saloon at 5253 South Halstead Street during their tour of duty watching a nearby residence.

Both officers had been detailed there in hopes to arrest a subject wanted for the murder of Special Agent Edwin Shannan of the Federal Bureau of Investigation that occurred on October 11th, 1925. The suspect's girlfriend lived at the house they were watching and they got a tip that he was going there that night.

While inside the business three armed robbers entered through a backdoor and immediately opened fire and exchanged gunshots with both officers, striking Patrolman Carroll in the head killing him, fatally wounded Patrolman Henry, shot and killed a cab driver, and seriously wounded a patron before fleeing. Patrolman Henry succumbed to his gunshot wound four days later.

An investigation revealed that one of the robbers was Martin Durkin, the suspect Patrolmen Carroll were waiting for. When the suspect was apprehended in St. Louis on January 20, 1926, two witnesses who saw all three robbers said Durkin was not one of the three after they saw him at the Cook County Jail. The three suspects were never identified or apprehended. Martin Durkin was one of Chicago's most dangerous criminals. During the course of several crimes he committed he had shot and wounded three Chicago police officers and had shot and killed Sergeant Harry Gray on November 2, 1925.

Patrolman Carroll was a U.S. Army veteran of WWI and had served with the Chicago Police Department for 1-1/2 years.