In the early morning hours of April 23, 1974, the Lynn Tap bar in Lynn, Massachusetts, became the scene of a fatal shooting that claimed the life of 25-year-old David A. Urban. A reputed member of the Hell's Angels motorcycle club, Urban was seated with three associates when a lone gunman appeared at the open doorway and fired a series of shots into the establishment.
Urban, a native of Buffalo, New York, was struck by a single bullet under his left armpit which tragically pierced his
heart, leading to his rapid death. Another man, Mark W. Veherbon, 28, of Menlo Park, California, was also hit by the gunfire, sustaining wounds to his stomach and leg, but ultimately survived the attack. Both men were visiting the area and staying with the Lynn chapter of the Hell's Angels.
Despite the passage of time, the murder of David A. Urban remains unsolved, and no arrests have ever been made in connection with the shooting. The investigation into the incident has been marked by a scarcity of leads, with one of the uninjured witnesses providing only a vague description of the suspect as a man with long, dark hair and a mustache. A firearm and a jacket were later discovered in a parking lot behind the bar, though it is not publicly known if these items were definitively linked to the shooter.
A prevailing theory among law enforcement suggests that Urban's murder was not a random act of violence but rather a targeted retaliation. This theory connects the shooting to a stabbing that occurred on April 7, 1974, at the Arena Cafe, another local establishment. In that incident, the son of the cafe's owner, Thomas Abernathy Jr., was allegedly stabbed by two members of the Hell's Angels. Notably, two of the men accompanying Urban on the night of his death had been arrested in connection with the Arena Cafe stabbing and were out on bail. The situation escalated further on March 24, 1975, when Thomas Abernathy Jr. was severely injured by a package bomb that exploded at his home, resulting in the loss of his left arm and right hand, and blinding him. Investigators believe these violent events are interconnected, painting a picture of a deadly feud that ultimately led to Urban's untimely death.
