On a frigid Friday, December 16, 1932, Minneapolis Police Patrolman Ira Leon Evans, a 39-year-old man, responded to a bank robbery in progress at the intersection of Central and East Hennepin Avenues. It was a call that would tragically be his last. Evans, an eight-year veteran of the force, arrived at the scene with his partner, Patrolman Leo Gorski.
As the two officers exited their patrol car, they were met with a hail of gunfire from two of the suspects, who were armed with a shotgun and a machine gun.
Both Evans and Gorski were fatally wounded in the violent ambush. The suspects, later identified as members of the infamous Barker-Karpis Gang, managed to escape in the ensuing chaos. The brazen daytime robbery and murder of two police officers sent shockwaves through the city and sparked an intensive investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Ultimately, the members of the Barker-Karpis Gang were apprehended for their crime spree that spanned the Midwest. One of the shooters directly involved in the murder of Patrolman Evans and Gorski was eventually captured and sentenced to life in prison for his crimes. This same individual was also responsible for the murder of another law enforcement officer, Marshal John Rose of Kirksville, Missouri, in 1930. The apprehension of the gang brought a measure of closure to the violent end of Patrolman Ira Leon Evans's dedicated service.
