G-Men, Gangsters and Gators

Throughout the 1930s, federal agents tracked down members of the Barker-Karpis gang. Led by Special-Agent-in-Charge Earl Connelley, the federal "flying squad" that hunted down John Dillinger focused its sights on Fred and Kate "Ma" Barker in 1934. Clues led them to a house on Lake Weir in central Florida. In the early morning hours of January 16, 1935, agents surrounded the house and ordered the Barkers outside. What followed was the longest shoot-out in FBI history and the deaths of the Barkers. Pieced together from reports by the agents involved, Brian Hunt retells the story of that fateful day.