Personality
Nelson was the antithesis of popular, Robin Hood-like gangsters of the Depression era, which included Dillinger. A hot-tempered man, Nelson did not hesitate to kill lawmen and innocent bystanders alike. For example, in the March 6, 1934 robbery of the Security National Bank & Trust Company in Sioux Falls, Nelson was enraged by the sound of the alarm, demanding to know who set the alarm off, setting him apart from Dillinger and Van Meter, who continued working to the alarm as if it hadn't gone off. Upon seeing a motorcycle cop, Hale Keith, pull up alongside the bank, Nelson leaped onto a railing and fired a deafening burst through a plate glass window, striking Keith four times and severely wounding him. He reportedly screamed "I got one!" after shooting Keith.
One of the high profile outlaws of that era, Nelson and Clyde Barrow were accused of killing more than 50 police officers between them. Paradoxically, Nelson was also a devoted family man who often had his wife and children with him while running from the law. After Dillinger's death in July 1934, Nelson became Public Enemy Number One.
Read more about this topic: Baby Face Nelson
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