Bonnie and Clyde Fall: The End of a Crime Spree
A Texas posse led by former Texas Ranger Frank Hamer ambushed Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow on a rural road near Sailes, Louisiana, on May 23, 1934. The six lawmen fired approximately 130 rounds into their stolen Ford V-8, killing both occupants instantly. Bonnie was 23, Clyde was 25. The couple had been on a two-year crime spree across the Southwest, robbing small banks, gas stations, and grocery stores, and killing at least nine law enforcement officers. Hamer had tracked them for 102 days by studying their pattern of visiting family members. The car, riddled with bullet holes, became a morbid tourist attraction. Despite their violent careers, the couple became folk heroes during the Depression, romanticized as rebels against banks that had foreclosed on family farms.
May 23, 1934
92 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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