Although the FBI was created in 1908 (originally as the Bureau of Investigation), the agency did not see one its men die in the line of duty for another 17 years. October 11, 1925, is remembered by FBI agents past and present as a testament to just how dangerous their chosen profession is.
That day, the lives of two young men, one a criminal and one a federal agent, collided in Chicago with tragic results.
Martin Durkin’s racket was car theft. The 25-year-old criminal was known for stealing cars and transporting them between states to sell illegally. Durkin would pose as a prospective car buyer at dealerships, convince employees he’d be back the next day to make a purchase, and steal cars at night when the businesses were closed to the public. He’d then alter the car’s engine, some other parts, and its serial number and sell each automobile in another state for a nice profit.
Edwin Shanahan was a 27-year-old Chicago native who had been with the FBI since 1920. Before joining the Bureau, Shanahan served in the Army during World War I.
In late 1925, Durkin became a wanted man by the FBI because of his numerous violations of the Dyer Act, a law that made transporting stolen cars across state lines a federal crime. It was common knowledge that Durkin was a dangerous man: he had previously shot three policemen in Chicago and one in California, though none of them were killed. On October 11, 1925, Special Agent Edwin Shanahan received a tip that Martin Durkin would be arriving at a garage in Chicago to drop off a car he had stolen and driven up from New Mexico.
Shanahan and a team of police officers surveilled the garage for most of October 11, with no sighting of Durkin. It appeared that the information may not have been reliable and…
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