When men burst into The Union Trust Company on Xenia Avenue, they commanded P.J. Kloos, the manager, along with several employees, to “stick ‘em up.” They didn’t know there were plain clothes police in attendance. Due to the rash of robberies in the area and time frame, police stationed two officers at each bank. Patrolman W.L. Dempsey snuck to the rear of the building and opened fire. The robbers fired back. When Dempsey believed he had injured and incapacitated the men, he left them to be dealt with by his partner Patrolman Bernard Hock and went after the accomplices outside the bank.

As soon as they spotted the patrolman, the men fled up a side street and attempted to get a truck driver to help them flee. The truck driver stalled his engine and that gave Patrolman Dempsey time to open fire on the two men. A 21-year-old man named James Royal of St. Louis MO was wounded and his companion was killed. The companion was unidentified and estimated to be about 35 years old. A stray bullet struck a ten-year-old girl, Eleanor Fetz, who had the luck of walking in front of the bank at the time of the robbery.

Taken by surprise, the men inside did not get away with any money. One man was injured by Patrolman Dempsey’s bullets, but both men were able to flee.

The police security had been put in place a month prior in response to another robbery at the location. Five bandits armed with machine guns had robbed the bank of $33,000.