Will Reynolds
William Reynolds was an African American railroad worker. He had no prior conviction before he shot nine members of a police posse, seven of them fatally, in Tuscumbia, Alabama, United States on April 6, 1902, before being shot dead himself.
Police arrived at Reynolds' home in Tuscumbia's black neighborhood to arrest him on a charge of obtaining property under false pretenses. According to the Richmond Planet, Reynolds opened fire immediately on the sheriff and deputy who came to the door, killing both. He barricaded himself in the house and a posse was assembled. In the ensuing gun battle, Reynolds killed five more white men, totaling seven. After four hours, the posse set fire to the house in which he was barricaded and, in attempting to escape, Reynolds was shot to death. The posse threw Reynolds remains in the fire. A total of three houses were burned down.
With the sheriff and five deputies of the Colbert County Sheriff's Department among those killed, this was the deadliest incident in Alabama law enforcement history.
Racial tensions were high after the incident and, the following day in nearby Florence, Alabama, a prominent white butcher was arrested for killing and butchering a black patron who praised Reynolds.
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