Bio & Incident Details
Age: 26
Tour: 1 year, 2 months
Badge # Not available
Cause: Gunfire
Location: Texas
Incident Date: 1/30/1911
Weapon: Handgun
Suspect: one wounded, two killed
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On Wednesday, January 11, 1911, two railroad officers from the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad were sent by train to investigate thefts at Abo Pass in New Mexico. One agent got off at a flag stop to send a telegram before they reached Abo Pass, and Officer J. A. McClure continued on alone. He was never seen alive again.
A posse of lawmen suspected a homesteader named Frank B. Howe and his two sons, Robert and Guy, who lived near the railroad at Abo. They were leading members of a loosely organized gang known as the Abo Pass Gang. On Friday, January 27, 1911, a posse of officers found McClure’s body inside a well on Howe’s property. The investigation concluded that McClure was shot from ambush after he caught the Howe’s stealing and started tracking them.
The Howe’s had boarded a southbound freight train to Fort Hancock on the Texas-Mexico border in Hudsepth County, about 50 miles south of El Paso. On Monday, January 30, 1911, between 11:00 a.m. and 12 noon, the Howe’s were put off of the freight train. They started walking in the direction of the river front. Their appearance attracted the attention of U.S. Mounted Customs Inspector Thomas L. O’Connor, who asked Justice of the Peace Myron R. Hemly, to accompany him. O’Connor and Hemly caught up with the three men. O’Connor asked the men where they were going, and the men replied they were looking for work. O’Connor and Hemly dismounted and drew their weapons and ordered the three men to raise their hands. As Hemly searched the father, Frank Howe, and O’Connor searched Guy Howe, Robert Howe drew his pistol and shot O’Connor in the mouth and breast. O’Connor got off three shots and the other four combatants emptied their pistols, with Hemly being wounded in the wrist and Robert Howe being wounded in the leg and shoulder by Hemly. O’Connor suffered a total of four wounds which proved fatal. Hemly fled to gather a posse. On their return they found O’Connor’s body stripped of his pistol and cartridge belt.
The Howe’s crossed into Mexico and later crossed back into Texas where they left the wounded Robert Howe. A posse of Texas Rangers and New Mexico lawmen overtook Frank and Guy Howe about 9:00 p.m. A gun fight erupted and the lawmen shot and killed both men. Robert Howe was arrested and jailed in El Paso. Robert said his brother, Guy, killed Railroad Agent McClure, but he shot and killed O’Connor. Robert Howe was charged with the murder of O’Connor and bound over the Grand Jury and held on a $25,000 bond. At this time it is unknown whether Robert Howe was convicted. No appeals reported on Lexis.com.
O’Connor was survived by his wife, Mary W. O’Connor, a son, Thomas L. O’Connor, Jr., and an unnamed second child. His mother survived him and was married to U. S. Customs Mounted Inspector James N. Wafer. O’Connor was 26 years of age and had joined the U. S. Customs Service on December 1, 1909. He was buried in the Concordia Cemetery in El Paso.
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