Inspector Thomas S. O'Connor

Thomas S. O'Connor

Inspector Thomas O'Connor was shot and killed in Hudspeth County, Texas, as he and a justice of the peace confronted a father and his two sons who were walking near the riverfront at Fort Hancock.

The men were part of a gang of outlaws and were suspected in the disappearance and murder of Special Agent J.A. McClure of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad Police five days earlier.

As Inspector O'Connor and the justice searched two of the family members the third drew his pistol and shot Inspector O'Connor four times, killing him. One of the subjects and the justice were wounded in the ensuing shootout. A posse caught up with the three near Fort Hancock two days later. In a gun battle that resulted, the father and one brother were killed and the other brother arrested. The arrested brother said they killed Special Agent McClure.

Inspector O'Connor had served with the United States Customs Service for two years. He was survived by his wife, two children, and his mother. He was buried in the Concordia Cemetery in El Paso.