G-Men, Gangsters and Gators: The FBI’s Hunt for the Barker Gang in Florida

Throughout the 1930s, FBI agents tracked down members of the notorious Barker-Karpis gang. Led by Special-Agent-in-Charge Earl “E.J” Connelley, the federal flying squad that hunted John Dillinger focused its sights on Fred and Kate “Ma” Barker. Clues led them to central Florida. In the early morning hours of January 16, 1935, agents surrounded a lake 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.