Majestic Theatre June 18, 1915.

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Uploaded on: March 23, 2019

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Photo description credit Art Osterdahl:

“This photo was taken on June 18, 1915. The location is the Shaver Block, a large building that was located in Brooklyn Square partially over the river and partially over land. In later years Holmlund’s Wallpaper and Paint store and would occupy this storefront where the theater is shown. The man in the window is Fred Shaver aged 41. On that afternoon he shot and killed his 27 year old stepmother Ruth Campbell Shaver, his father Hudson Shaver who was 67 and Jamestown police officer George Kendall who was 24. Usually drunk, Fred was angry that his new stepmother was now in his father’s will and stood to gain the bulk of his father’s estate which was considerable. The Shaver block was owned outright by Hudson who made his money in Jamestown industry. The Shaver apartment was in this building. Hudson’s first wife died some months earlier and Hudson then married Ruth Campbell who was 40 years younger than he! This did not set well with Fred who was 14 years older than his stepmother. Hudson and Ruth were married only a few weeks when it all came to an end in the early afternoon of June 18th. At some point, Ruth and Fred became embroiled probably when Ruth argued with Fred about his anger and drinking. Fred was angry with Ruth for disrupting the family and attempting to inherit his father’s wealth. Fred may have stood to be disinherited himself because of his drinking which further angered him. The argument most certainly became physical during which a drunk and angry Fred Shaver went to a closet, grabbed one of several rifles he owned and shot Ruth killing her instantly. Hudson meanwhile had concluded business uptown and was returning to his home. Once inside the apartment he discovered that his new wife was dead and that his own son had shot her. Hudson told Fred he intended to go find a police officer and was on his way out when Fred stopped him. A scuffle between the two men ensued when Fred then shot and killed his father. Officer George Kendall was one of several Brooklyn Square beat patrolman who responded to the scene. Three officers entered the door just to the right of the movie theater and got only a short way up when Fred appeared at the top of the stair landing and opened fire. The men were probably in retreat but two bullets struck Officer Kendall. The other two officers were able to escape with their lives. Another two other officers went back in, made their way to Officer Kendall who was still alive but seriously wounded. They helped him to his feet and the three made it back out to the sidewalk where Kendall was placed in a nearby car and taken to the Jones (later General) Hospital. In this photo Fred Shaver is shown speaking with an enormous crowd that had gathered below the Shaver apartment. Efforts to convince Shaver to give himself up were fruitless. He threatened to shoot anyone who came near the apartment but spoke easily with the crowd often tossing written notes which alluded to the hazards of drinking and how he would give himself up if certain conditions were met. He intended to make his escape via one of the trolley cars that left Brooklyn Square on a regular schedule. By this time, additional officers from the police department were able to obtain rifles from the armory which was then just down the street on S. Main. They stationed themselves in a front room of the hotel that was then across the street from the Shaver Block. The order was given by the Captain to his officers that if Shaver did not surrender himself within the next few minutes they were to shoot and kill him and end the standoff. When Shaver absolutely refused to give himself up, the officers opened fire striking Shaver who fell dead back into the apartment. When the door to the apartment was battered down they found the bodies of Ruth and Hudson Shaver both dead of gunshot wounds. Fred Shaver himself was found with head wounds so grievous that at first it was thought he had finished himself off after being only wounded by police. The coroner stated that no such thing happened; that Shaver was killed solely by police in performance of their duty. It was learned that Shaver had stockpiled additional rifles and ammunition in the apartment and could have easily killed many additional people if he’d chosen to do so. Officer Kendall died at the hospital about an hour after being shot twice. Thus became the only triple murder and quadruple shooting in Jamestown’s history that resulted in the only line-of-duty death of a Jamestown police officer. That’s the story behind the photo!”