In the small town of Alexandria, Indiana, a male named Virgil Kirkman, aged 23, met a tragic and untimely end on March 4, 1911. A dedicated Patrolman with the Alexandria Police Department, his death came swiftly and violently in the line of duty while responding to a robbery in progress at the Miller Pawnshop on South Canal Street.
The incident unfolded as one man entered the pawnshop, his face obscured by a red handkerchief, and demanded the day's earnings from the owner.
Across the street, his accomplice stood watch. An alert customer leaving the store quickly notified the authorities, and Patrolman Kirkman, along with another officer, responded to the call. Unaware of the imminent danger, Kirkman entered the shop with his gun still in its holster. Without warning, the robber turned and fired a single shot that struck the officer in the head. He was transported to a nearby hospital where he later succumbed to his wound.
The 25-year-old shooter fled the scene and sought refuge at his father's home. In a subsequent and related tragedy, Chief of Police John Ellis was mortally wounded while attempting to apprehend the suspect at this location. The suspect managed to escape, had his own wounds treated by a doctor in Orestes, and was later discovered asleep in a barn by one of the several posses formed to find him. His 16-year-old accomplice had been apprehended shortly after the robbery.
Fearing a lynching, both suspects were moved from the city jail to Anderson five days after their capture. They were both ultimately sentenced to life in prison for their roles in the deadly robbery. The younger accomplice was granted parole in 1919. The man who fired the fatal shot that killed Patrolman Virgil Kirkman was released from prison in 1936.
