St. Valentine's Day Massacre
On February 14, 1929, the upper echelon of the North Side gang, including Peter Gusenberg, gathered at the S.M.C. Cartage Company at 2122 N. Clark Street in Chicago. Also there were Frank Gusenberg, Albert Weinshank, Adam Heyer, James Clark, John May, and Dr. Reinhardt Schwimmer (a friend of a gang member). The general accepted story is that the North Siders were waiting for a shipment of hijacked Log Cabin brand whiskey from Detroit (a ploy devised by Capone). However, this story has been disputed.
Two men in Chicago police uniforms entered the garage and lined Peter Gusenberg and the other North Siders against the north wall. At this point, two men in civilian clothing entered from the rear carrying submachine guns. The four gunmen then opened fire with submachine guns and shotguns, killing all seven men, in what would become known as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Peter Gusenberg died instantly.
Peter's brother Frank was the only initial survivor of the massacre. When police asked who had shot him, Frank replied, "No one shot me." He died later that night. Although the killers wiped out most of the North Side Gang, they missed their prime target, Bugs Moran. Moran had pulled up to the garage just as the shooters were entering. Because they were dressed as policemen, Moran assumed it was a raid and fled the area.
Read more about this topic: Peter Gusenberg
Famous quotes containing the words valentine, day and/or massacre:
“There would have to be something wrong with someone who could throw out a child’s first Valentine card saying, “I love you, Mommy.””
—Ginger Hutton (20th century)
“The first man to discover Chinook salmon in the Columbia, caught 264 in a day and carried them across the river by walking on the backs of other fish. His greatest feat, however, was learning the Chinook jargon in 15 minutes from listening to salmon talk.”
—State of Oregon, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“It is hard, I submit, to loathe bloodshed, including war, more than I do, but it is still harder to exceed my loathing of the very nature of totalitarian states in which massacre is only an administrative detail.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)