John Dillinger was a cunning and sophisticated bank robber who led a string of violent robberies during his short yet infamous criminal career. After being paroled in 1933, Dillinger organized a group of his closest criminal associates and began a notorious crime spree. While Americans struggled during the height of the Great Depression, the gang stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from Midwestern banks.
In January 1934, Dillinger was caught by law enforcement and extradited to Indiana to await trial for the murder of a police officer. But while he was sequestered in what officials called an “escape proof” jail, Dillinger deceived two guards and broke out. Dillinger fled the jail in a stolen car and drove from Indiana to Illinois. That placed him in violation of the National Motor Vehicle Theft Act, which made it a Federal offense to transport a stolen motor vehicle across state lines.
The Federal charge enabled the FBI to lead the nationwide manhunt. Director J. Edgar Hoover made Dillinger’s capture the FBI’s top priority. Hoover sent his top lieutenants to the Chicago field office, where agents used an informant to locate the country’s top public enemy. FBI agents planned to catch Dillinger outside of Chicago’s Biograph Theater on the evening of July 22. But as he left the theater, he reached for his gun. Several agents opened fire. Dillinger was shot three times before being pronounced dead at 10:50 p.m. on July 22, 1934.
