In 1929, gang leaders in Chicago observed Valentine's day, not with roses and chocolates, but with guns and bullets. Seven men were lined up against a wall and shot dead
Gangsters who were killed
These murders went out of the comprehension of a civilised city. The butchering of seven men by open daylight raises this question for Chicago: Is it helpless?
Chicago Tribune Editorial
Kiss of a bullet
The men were lined up in North Clark Street by four men, two dressed in police uniforms. They were executed with the precision of a firing squad, reported the New York Times. The killers escaped in a police car
The murder was the work of notorious gangster Al Capone to eliminate the last challenge for the mantle of crime boss, according to the Chicago Tribune. At that time, the threat to Capone’s came from George “Bugs” Moran who had his own gang
Rise of Al Capone
Six of the victims were from the Moran gang. One of them Dr Reinhardt Schwimmer was an optician who cavorted with criminals for thrills. Moran himself was not murdered. Capone, who was vacationing at his retreat in Florida, claimed he had no knowledge of the killings
The great escape
However, nobody went to jail for the massacre. After the incident, Capone’s mob ran organised crime in Chicago for decades. And the gangsters became high-profile targets for prosecutors