92 years ago, the infamous Dillinger gang descended on the quiet streets of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Back then, with a population of just 33,000, it was a community that bore little resemblance to the bustling city we call home today, that is, until the gunfire started.
It was a calm Tuesday morning, just before 10 am in downtown Sioux Falls. But that peaceful day was shattered in a moment’s notice when Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and the rest of the gang walked through the doors of the Security National Bank and Trust Company in Sioux Falls.
Mary Lucas, a bookkeeper for the bank, was the first to spot the Green 1934 Packard Super 8, pulled over on the side of the curb near the building. As she watched it through the bank’s window, she said to a fellow employee, “If I ever saw a holdup car, that’s one.” Her coworker laughed it off, telling her she had been reading too many stories about bank robberies. But by the time the two made it back to their desks, they weren’t laughing anymore.
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The Dillinger gang was known for being disturbingly professional and business-like. Moving like a well-oiled machine, securing the lobby and forcing the employees of the Security Bank Building to the floor. Hale Keith, a local police officer in Sioux Falls, had approached the scene to investigate, but right at that moment, Baby Face Nelson spotted him through the bank’s window, fired on him, and said, “I got one”. Keith suffered life-threatening injuries from the shooting, but would ultimately survive…