In the Cramer Hill neighborhood of Camden, New Jersey, a sequence of events unfolded on September 6, 1949, that would end the life of 27-year-old John Joseph Pilarchik. On that late summer morning, Howard Barton Unruh, a 28-year-old World War II veteran, left his apartment on River Road armed with a Luger pistol. His first stop was the shoe repair shop owned by Pilarchik. Unruh entered the shop and fatally shot the unsuspecting shoemaker.
This act marked the beginning of a rampage that would later be dubbed the 'Walk of Death.'
The violence did not end with Pilarchik. After leaving the shoe shop, Unruh continued his deadly walk, targeting other residents of his neighborhood with whom he had reportedly had deteriorating relationships. In the span of just twelve minutes, Unruh shot and killed a total of thirteen people, including children, and wounded several others. The shocking and sudden violence sent a wave of terror through the working-class community and garnered widespread media attention, with many considering it the first mass shooting in modern American history.
The manhunt for Howard Unruh was short-lived. He was apprehended by police and subsequently confessed to the killings. An examination of his apartment revealed a collection of weapons and a target range in his basement. Unruh was ultimately found to be criminally insane and was committed to the Trenton State Hospital. He remained confined there for the next six decades, never standing trial for the murders he committed. Howard Unruh died in a state psychiatric facility on October 19, 2009, at the age of 88, having spent the remainder of his life institutionalized for the day of violence that claimed the life of John Joseph Pilarchik and twelve others.
