Lynching of Will Sherod

Will Sherod was an African-American man who was lynched in Braggadocio, Missouri, on May 22, 1927, after being accused of assaulting a woman.
Lynching
On May 21, 1927, Ella Hendershot, a 31-year-old widow with two children, was assaulted. That night, she called the police and described the person who did it. Her description led the police to suspect Will Sherod, a 30-year-old Black man. The following day, when they tried to arrest Sherod, he tried to run away. An officer fired two shots. The shots hit Sherod's right arm and right shoulder. He was taken to the jail in nearby Caruthersville.

At about ten o'clock on May 22, a mob of 20 men kidnapped Sherod. They brought him back to the town. Half an hour later, they had hanged him in the town square on a temporary scaffolding. He had about twelve bullet shots on his body. Sherod was left there until the following morning, when officers came to look into the matter.
Aftermath
No members of the mob were ever arrested. The sheriff said that most of the members of the mob wore masks. He couldn't recognize the ones who didn't. No witnesses ever came forward to identify mob members.
References

Category:Murdered African-American people
Category:1927
Category:Lynching