Lafayette 'Lafe' Augustus Shadley, a 49-year-old male Deputy United States Marshal, died on September 3, 1893, two days after being shot in a fierce gun battle in Ingalls, Oklahoma Territory. Shadley, a former Sheriff of Montgomery County, Kansas, was part of a posse of marshals who had traveled to the small town on September 1, 1893, in pursuit of the notorious Doolin-Dalton gang.
The outlaws were wanted for various crimes, including the murder of another marshal.
The events that led to Shadley's death began when the marshals encountered members of the gang in Ingalls. A gunfight quickly erupted, and the outlaws, who were well-armed, took up strategic positions. During the intense exchange of fire, Shadley was shot by Bill Dalton, a prominent member of the Doolin-Dalton Gang. Two other lawmen, Deputy Marshal Thomas Hueston and Special Deputy Marshal Richard Speed, were also killed in the shootout.
In the chaotic aftermath of the gunfight, the outlaws managed to escape. One of the suspects, who had been firing at the marshals from a hotel rooftop with a Winchester rifle, was eventually apprehended. He served time in prison and was later released, only to be killed in a separate shootout with police. The man who fired the fatal shot that struck Shadley, Bill Dalton, was not immediately brought to justice for this specific crime.
