Detective Charles Burrell

Charles Burrell

Detective Charles Burrell was in a restaurant at the corner of 28th and Church Street when two men approached from behind him.

One of the men shot Detective Burrell in the neck, the bullet ranging upward through his jaw and lodging in his head. Both men were quickly captured and the weapon was recovered. Detective Burrell was taken to a local hospital where he was able to identify one of his assailants.

The investigation into the shooting revealed that Detective Burrell, an African American, had been working to wipe out cocaine dealing in the segregated areas of Galveston. He had arrested his two assailants, both Caucasian males, several times in the recent past for drug dealing. He died from his wounds one week later, on July 30th, 1914.

Detective Burrell was survived by his wife Landonia, a sister and two brothers. He is buried in Lakeview Cemetery in Galveston, Texas.