Bangor’s Bloodiest Shoot-Out Was 84 Years Ago Today

When the FBI's most-wanted man came to Bangor in search of guns, he had no idea he would never leave.

On this day in Bangor history, Al Brady and his notorious gang were gunned down in Downtown Bangor. The Brady Gang came to Bangor thinking they'd be able to find unlimited guns both legal and illegal. They came to Maine in the fall thinking it would be less suspicious for them to be buying guns and ammunition with hunting season nearing.

They purchased firearms and ammunition at Dakin's on Central Street, and the next day they purchased three more pistols from Rice and Miller on Broad Street. Their fatal mistake would be returning to Dakin's five days later.

Store owner Everett Hurd was already suspicious of their hunting story, and when they asked if the store sold Tommy guns, Hurd was on to them. Rather than tipping the gang off to his suspicions, he said he could have one in stock within a couple of days.

On Oct. 9, 15 FBI agents and 15 Indiana and Maine State Troopers arrived in Bangor to stake out downtown. When the gang returned to Dakin's on Oct. 12, Central Street would run red with their blood.

Unaware the store was full of undercover officers and downtown rooftops were staged with police, the gang returned to pick up the weapon. One member of the gang went into the store to see if the Tommy gun arrived. He was knocked to the ground by an agent inside the store, and would be the only member of the Brady Gang to survive the shoot-out. One gang member outside the store was shot by roof top agents.

Brady and the driver who were in their parked Buick were now surrounded by police. Refusing to go down without a fight, Brady opened fire on the police. The firefight would last about four minutes. In the end, Brady and two other members of his gang were dead. All three bodies were hit 60 times by bullets.

Brady's body went unclaimed, so he was buried in an unmarked grave in Mt. Hope Cemetery. According to the BDN, in 2007 his grave was given a marker.

Read the full story of Bangor's bloodiest shootout, at BangorInfo.com.