On a June evening in 1908, Daniel Francis McCrea, a 22-year-old male detective for the Buffalo, Rochester, and Pittsburgh Railroad Police, was making his rounds in the bustling Buffalo Creek rail yards near Fillmore Avenue. His time on the force had been short, only a few months, but in that time he had earned a reputation among the local criminals, having been shot at on previous occasions.
On this particular day, June 20th, McCrea, along with a New York Central officer, confronted a
group of men, ordering them to leave the railroad property. After using his billy club to disperse the group, McCrea boarded a moving freight train at Fillmore Avenue and Clinton Street, positioning himself on the bumpers between two of the cars. As the train chugged along, one of the men he had just confronted stealthily climbed atop the very car McCrea was on. While four accomplices stood watch from the ground, the man fired a single, fatal shot down into McCrea's face.
The young detective was rushed to Emergency Hospital, but the wound was too severe. He succumbed to his injuries two days later on June 24, 1908, never having regained consciousness. His family, including his parents and two sisters, had gathered at the hospital.
In the days that followed, the Buffalo police began their investigation. The main suspect was identified as Stephen Jablowicz, a Polish youth also known by the alias "Polack Sullivan," who was said to be the leader of a troublesome gang and had previous run-ins with McCrea. While the shooter, believed to be Jablowicz, managed to escape on a westbound freight train, another man, a 17-year-old named Wladislaus Boczyonski, was arrested in connection with the crime the day after the shooting. A manhunt for Jablowicz ensued, but the outcome of the search and the ultimate resolution of the case against the suspects remain unclear.
