On a tragic afternoon in the Bronx, New York, on August 21, 1931, the life of a four-year-old Hispanic girl named Gloria Lopez was cut short. A violent crime spree that unfolded that day ultimately led to her untimely death.
The series of events began around 3:45 PM when two armed men, John Brecht and Martin Bachorik, executed a payroll robbery at the Mendoza Fur and Dye Works on East 133rd Street.
In the ensuing chaos, as the men made their escape, Gloria Lopez was riding in her father's car. She was struck by buckshot, suffering a wound above her right eye and two more in her throat. The young girl was transported to Morrisania Hospital, where she died from her injuries.
The perpetrators of the robbery and the shooting were pursued by law enforcement. In a final stand, both John Brecht and Martin Bachorik were shot and killed by police. The driver of their getaway taxi, Herbert Haas, was also killed during the shootout. The violent rampage also claimed the lives of Patrolman Walter J. Webb and Patrolman Edwin V. Churchill, and left a taxi driver, Rubin Katz, among the dying.
