In the late summer of 1949, a wave of violence shattered the peace of a Camden, New Jersey neighborhood, forever altering the lives of many, including that of 38-year-old Rose Cohen. A wife and mother, she lived in an apartment above her husband's pharmacy, a place that would tragically become a scene of unimaginable horror. On September 6th, what began as an ordinary day descended into a nightmare when a neighbor, Howard Unruh, a 28-year-old World War II veteran, embarked on a deadly rampage
that would later be dubbed the 'Walk of Death.'
Unruh, armed with a Luger pistol, moved with a chilling precision through his community, targeting those with whom he held grudges, however slight. The Cohen family had unfortunately drawn his ire over seemingly minor disputes. As Unruh's violent spree brought him to their building, Rose's motherly instincts took over. In a final, selfless act, she managed to hide her 12-year-old son, Charles, in a closet, a quick-thinking decision that would save his life. She then sought refuge in another closet, a desperate attempt to escape the unfolding terror.
The thin closet door, however, offered no protection from the heavily armed man who had forced his way into their home. Unruh discovered her hiding place and fired multiple shots through the door before opening it and firing again. Rose Cohen's life was tragically cut short in that small, dark space, a victim of a senseless act of violence that claimed the lives of 13 people in a mere 12 minutes. Her husband, Maurice, and her mother-in-law, Minnie, were also killed in the attack.
The lone perpetrator, Howard Unruh, was apprehended by police shortly after the massacre. He was found to be suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and was declared mentally incompetent to stand trial. Unruh was committed to a state psychiatric hospital, where he remained for the rest of his life, never facing a jury for the lives he had taken. His actions left an indelible scar on the community of Camden and on the families of his victims, a tragic story of a woman who died protecting her child in the face of sudden, inexplicable violence.
