Evening star., 1925-06-14
5000 POLICE HUNT
GANGSTERS TO LAIR
Chicago Starts Cleanup
When Two Members of
Force Die in Fight.
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
CHICAGO. June 13.-Chicago gang
land and Chicago policemen met today
and as result two policemen were
shot to death, another probably
fatally wounded, one gangster was
killed and his two companions cap
tured in one of the most desperate
and spectacular pistol battles in the
city's history.
Tonight 5000 Chicago policemen
were securing the city in what Chief
of Police Morgan A. Collins described
as a relentless and merciless drive on
gangland and scores of suspects had
been taken into custody.
The police and the gangsters met on
the southwest side and the pistol bat
tie followed 60-mile-an-hour auto
mobile chase which ended when the
gangsters' car was wrecked and they
tumbled from their machine with
blazing guns.
Gets Three Gangsters.
The hero Of the battle was William
Sweeney, young policeman, who
escaped the fusillade of bullets that
wounded or killed his three comrades,
and then single handed killed one of
the ;;angsters and caught the two
others after wounding them.
True to the gangland code, the
captured gunmen remained stolidly
silent through hours of questioning,
but tonight the police were satisfied
that the battle was the aftermath Of
a trip by the gangsters to avenge the
death of Angelo Genna, gang leader.
slain a few weeks ago. Michael
Genna, his brother, was the gangster
shot and killed today.
Half an hour before Genna and his
men began their savage battle with
the detective squad, six gunmen tried
to assassinate an unidentified motor
list several miles from the scene of
the fight. They emptied sawed-of
shotguns and pistols at the car but
missed the occupant. The police be-
lieve that Genna and his companions
were In that ambuscade and believed
that they had been detected by the
police and decided to shoot it out.
Pole Ends Flight.
The police auto met the gangsters
machine racing over a southwest side
boulevard and gave chase. The race
ended after a two-mile run at break
neck speed when the gangsters' car
crashed into a corner light pole. The
three gangSterS leaped from their car
as the police car drew up a few feet
away and the four detectives tumbled
out. A shotgun volley met them.
Patrolman Harold Olson, driver of the
police car was dropped in his tracks,
and moment later Patrolman
Charles Walsh also fell fatally
wounded.
The two policemen left advanced
with blazing pistols until Sergt.
Michael Conway collapsed, shot
through the chest and probably
fatally wounded.
Then the gangsters took to their
heels. Patrolman Sweeney, who was
uninjured started in pursuit Of
Michael Genna. Genna turned as the
policeman advanced and aimed his
shotgun directly at the officer, but
the hammer clicked harmlessly. Then
Genna threw the gun away and ran.
the policeman in pursuit and firing at
every step. AS Genna started into
the basement of a building a block
away, Sweeney shot him dead.
Leaving Genna, the patrolman sped
in pursuit Of the other two gunmen
who had boarded a street car.
Sweeney clambered aboard and
knocked one of the gangsters down
and overpowered the other after a
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