Blood, Bullets, and Bones by Bridget Heos

Author:Bridget Heos
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2016-08-29T04:00:00+00:00

Detectives on the roof of the apartment where Francis Crowley and two others were caught by police

Soon, 150 officers were gathered in the streets below the apartment. Francis fired at them from the window while Helen and Tough Red took turns hiding under the bed. Officers and onlookers alike dodged bullets by diving behind cars. The officers returned fire, and debris fell from the building as it was peppered with bullets. A team of officers climbed onto the roof, cut a hole in the ceiling, and threw tear gas into the apartment. But Francis hurled the gas canisters into the street and opened fire at the officers through the ceiling. By now, the bad guys were running low on ammunition.

Fearing the end, Francis wrote a semi-rhyming, semi-coherent note explaining his violent rampage.

To whom it may concern:

I was born on the thirty-first. She was born on the thirteenth. I guess it was fate that made us mate. When I die put a lily in my hand, let the boys know how they’ll look. Underneath my coat will lay a wary kind heart what wouldn’t harm anything. I hadn’t nothing else to do. That’s why I went around bumping off cops. It’s the new sensation of the films. Take a tip from me to never let a copper go an inch above your knee. They will tell you they love you but as soon as you turn your back they will club you and say “the hell with you.” Now that my death is so near there is a couple of bulls at the door and saying “come hear.” I’m behind the door with three thirty-eights one which belongs to my friend who put on weight so quick in North Merrick. He would have gotten me if his bullets were any good.14

The last reference was to Officer Hirsch, who apparently had shot back at Francis but had a faulty pistol and so missed. “Put on weight” referred to the weight of the lead bullets.

The police were anxious to bring the shootout to an end. A crowd of 10,000 had gathered to watch and were breaking through the police barriers. Neighbors in the building were leaning out their windows to see the action. The police worried someone would be shot. As Francis threw another round of tear gas canisters out the window, police hit him with machine-gun fire. Confident that he had been wounded, they stormed the apartment. When they broke down the door, Helen was crouched in the corner and Tough Red was not very toughly hiding under the bed. Francis still stood, but said, “I’m shot. I give up. Anyway, you didn’t kill me.” He was apparently out of ammunition and had been shot three times—on the legs and arm. In the ambulance, police found two pistols strapped to his legs. He’d planned to shoot his way out of the ambulance. He was sentenced to death, saying before his execution, “My last wish is to send my love to my mother.”15 Too bad that love didn’t extend to the rest of humankind.

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