Crime Corner: The Easter Sunday Massacre
One of the most prolific and deadliest killing sprees in Washington State history happened not too long ago and still haunts Whitman County.
Called the "Easter Sunday Massacre," the murder spree left five dead, four of whom were officers, in Pullman on Easter Sunday, 1949.
George A. McIntyre, 25, was a World War II veteran who ran a family business in Pullman on Grand Avenue at the time of the shooting.
On Sunday, April 17, 1949, McIntyre fired several rounds at police officers, killing four before he was shot and killed.
At approximately 3:55 p.m., Officer Ross Claar, 56, noticed McIntyre's vehicle and went to talk to him as McIntyre had a warrant out for his arrest for violating probation.
The McIntyre family was driving to the St. Joe National Forrest to enjoy a midday picnic and heading to the
Reports state that McIntyre refused to accompany Claar after Claar confronted him. Claar went back to his vehicle to retrieve his nightstick. However, upon turning around, McIntyre had a .22 caliber pistol and fired three rounds directly into Claar's chest.
Claar, while slumped over, retrieved his revolver and fired two rounds at McIntyre, missing both times.
McIntyre dogged bullets and hid behind vehicles until he got his hands on Claar's nightstick. He bludgeoned Claar and left his wife and two children while he sped away in his pickup truck. An ambulance rushed Claar to Finch Memorial Hospital, but Claar died upon arrival.
Meanwhile, McIntyre had sped off to his house on Grand Avenue and retrieved a German 8mm Mauser K98k sniper rifle with a mounted telescopic sight, ammunition, and binoculars.
He left his pickup truck at his house, crossed Grand Avenue, also known as State Route 27, and headed up the side of College Hill. While concealed under the brush, McIntyre could watch his house and the highway.
At about 4:15 p.m., Deputy Sherrif Gilbert Gallagher (28), of Colfax, parked on NE Railroad Road at the bottom of College Hill, where he watched McIntyre's house.
He left his patrol car with a 30-30 Winchester Model 94 lever-action rifle and was shot once in the back and killed. McIntyre sprinted from his hiding place, grabbed Gallagher's rifle, and navigated into the brush.
Whitman County Sheriff "Pete" Parnell (60), of Colfax, was driving down Grand Avenue to join the search for McIntyre at about 4:30 p.m. A bullet halted the officer as it traveled through his windshield.
Parnell pulled over to the assumed protected side of the street, next to the Klemgard Pea Processing plant, directly into McIntyre's sights. McIntyre fired another round, and a bullet hit Parnell on the left side in the back, striking his heart.
Whitman County Deputy Sheriff James C. Hickman was following Parnell's patrol vehicle. When McIntyre opened fire, Hickman started to drive away. He was wounded, however, when a bullet pierced the roof of his patrol car and creased his skull.
The final exchange of gunfire occurred at approximately 4:35 p.m.
Officers from the Whitman County Sheriff's Department, Washington State Patrol, the Moscow Police Department, Latah County Sheriff's Department in Idaho, and several armed citizens spotted McIntyre changing position and opened fire. After waiting a reasonable amount of time with no returned fire, the gathering cautiously searched the brush and found McIntyre's body lying in a ditch at the bottom of College Hill.
Ernest Buck (42), of Pullman, was also killed in the exchange of bullets.
Those who lost their lives were Sherriff L. M. (Pete) Parnell, Deputy Sherriff Gilbert Gallagher, Officer Ross Claar, and Ernest Buck.
Two peace officers were injured, as well as James Roberts and Deputy Sherriff Jim Hickman.
To commemorate Parnell, Gary Libey, in partnership with Sheriff Brett Myers and the Whitman County Historical Society, will place a new gravestone where Parnell is buried.
Libey is a relative to the sheriff and assisted in funding the upcoming project set to take place on Monday, May 29, from 11-11:30 a.m.
"A lot of my family are up there, and the tombstone didn't have any information or suggestion that he was a Whitman County Sheriff killed in the line of duty," said Libey, "I think it's important that when people walk by they see how important he was and what he did for the community."