Shotgun Man is an alleged assassin and spree killer active in Chicago, Illinois in the 1910s, to whom murders by Black Hand extortionists were attributed.^[1] Most notably, Shotgun Man killed 15 Italian immigrants from January 1, 1910, to March 26, 1911, at "Death Corner," a notoriously violent Italian immigrant neighborhood at the intersection of Oak Street and Milton Avenue (now Cleveland Avenue) in what was then Chicago's Little Sicily.^[2] The area was notorious for violence committed by Italian immigrants and Italian-Americans, both independently and as a result of Italian gangs, the Mafia, and Black Hand feuding and vendettas. In March 1911, the so-called Shotgun Man reportedly murdered four people within 72 hours.^[3]

Background

Although the killings were witnessed by dozens of bystanders, the Chicago police were never able to identify the murderer. However, he was said to be well known throughout the Italian community and, with the political influence of the Black Hand, residents may have been hesitant to turn in the assassin.^[4] Although the fate of Shotgun Man is unknown, he seems to have disappeared from Little Italy shortly before Prohibition, as extortion operations of the Black Hand had faded away by the end of the decade.