Joseph Quinn - Aftermath

Aftermath

Lyons quickly fled the scene, but he had been identified by numerous eyewitnesses, and police soon had a good description of him. However, as officers first arrived at the scene, a Joseph Vince was pointed out by a bystander and taken into custody. Vince, a cigarmaker who had originally emigrated from Germany, was later cleared of any involvement.

A citywide manhunt for Lyons was conducted by New York police soon after Quinn's murder. Capt. Ryan of the 21st Precinct stated to the press "If we don't get him, Inspector Byrnes's men will get him wherever he goes. The Inspector's officers have worked up a great many more difficult cases than this."

Although his wound was judged to be fatal upon an earlier examination by Dr. Pfeiffer, officials of Bellevue Hospital were criticized for the difficulty and delay in calling an ambulance. Records indicate that the hospital had not been informed of the shooting until 6:10 pm. More than a half an hour had passed as Quinn lay in the drug store when a young man entered the hospital to ask if an ambulance had been sent yet. Only then was an ambulance sent out and, by 6:25 pm, Quinn had been brought to the hospital. Quinn's death would eventually lead to improvements in the ambulance system.