At the crack of dawn on Jan. 16, 1935, 14 FBI agents surrounded a faraway hideout of the Barker-Karpis gang, hoping to force a surrender. A four-hour shootout ensued, marking the longest in FBI history, during which Ma Barker and her son Freddie were killed.
The story caught national attention, dominating headlines and conversations across the country. But after more than eight decades later, the question remains: was Ma Barker really the criminal mastermind J. Edgar Hoover thought she was, or was she just a mother caught in the crossfire of her criminal children?
MA BARKER HIDEOUT: A HAUNTING INHERITANCE
The latest Fox Nation "American Standoff" attempts to answer some of the many unsolved questions surrounding history’s greatest gunfights and brings to life their notorious characters through stylized re-enactments, three-dimensional graphics, ballistic tests, forensic analysis and historians' expert testimonies.
In the second episode, titled "The Ma Barker Massacre," historian Paul Hutton explores one of the longest surviving criminal networks of the Depression Era, lead by matriarch Ma Barker.
"Ma Barker and her outlawed crew is an incredible story. They become the very definition of public Enemy Number One," Hutton said.
Mark Shogren, a film director at the University of Montana, explained why the story became a popular Holywood subject.
"The idea of a Tommy gun-toting grandmother really solidified in the public's mind," he explained. "[There was] this notion that this is sort of a monstrous person."
After years of evading the FBI on charges connected to bank robbery and murder, 15 FBI agents surrounded their home in 1935 and called for Ma to surrender. Instead, the 61-year-old and her youngest son Fred opened fire. Two thousand shots were exchanged in the ensuing four-hour gunfight. Ma and Fred didn’t make it out alive.
"It's complete chaos, lead is flying everywhere," Hutton said of the scene. "The Barker-Karpis gang defined what being a gangster is all about."
In the decades since, the legend of the machine gun-toting Ma Barker has endured, captivating audiences and historians alike.
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For a deeper look at some of history's most iconic gunfights, join Fox Nation to watch the "Ma Barker Massacre," the "Gunfight at OK Corral," and more, with a new episode unveiled each day this week.