Mark Essex
Encyclopedia
Mark James Robert Essex killed 9 people, including 5 police officers, and wounded 13 others in New Orleans
on December 31, 1972 and January 7, 1973.
. After graduating from Emporia Senior High School in 1967 Essex attended Emporia State University, where he dropped out after only one semester. He joined the United States Navy
as a dental technician
in 1969, stationed in San Diego, California
, where he claimed he was subjected to two years of ceaseless racial abuse. His black friends tried to explain to him that racism in the military was just a bitter pill that he had to learn to swallow. Another black friend claimed "he came into the military expecting it to be just like Emporia. He quickly found out that it wasn't". He went absent without leave (AWOL) from October 19 - November 16, 1970. He was given a general discharge for unsuitability on 10 February 1971, for "character and behavior disorders." After his discharge, he became involved with black radicals in San Francisco, California
and later joined the New York
Black Panthers.
. He hid in a parking lot across from the busy central lockup and used a Ruger .44 Magnum carbine to kill Cadet Alfred Harrell, 19. Lt. Horace Perez was also wounded in the attack. Harrell was black, although Essex said he was going to kill "just honkies
" before beginning his murderous attacks.
Essex evaded being taken into custody by jumping a chain link fence and running across I-10, while setting off firecrackers as a diversion. Essex then ran into Gert Town, an area renowned for high crime and hostility towards police. In Gert Town, Essex broke into the Burkart building, a warehouse and manufacturing plant on the corner of Euphrosine and South Gayoso. Upon entering the building, an alarm alerted police to a break-in at the business. A K-9 unit with Officers Edwin Hosli Sr. and Harold Blappert responded to the call, not realizing the connection of the break-in to the attack on central lockup. When Officer Hosli went to get his German Shepherd out of the back seat of the car, Essex shot him in the back. Essex then started shooting the car, shattering the windshield. Officer Blappert then crawled across the front seat to the radio and called for back-up. Officer Blappert then fired four shots at the spot where he saw muzzle flashes from Essex's rifle, then he pulled his partner's body onto the front seat of the car and waited for back-up. When the back-up arrived, they sent two dogs into the building to search for Essex, but Essex had escaped again. Officer Hosli would later die from his wounds on March 5, 1973.
Hotel. Gaining entry from a fire stairwell on the 18th floor, Essex told three startled black hotel employees not to worry, as he was only there to kill white people. In the hallway in front of room 1829 Essex found a 27-year-old vacationing Dr. Robert Steagall and his wife Betty. After a struggle with Steagall, Essex shot him in the chest. He then shot the wife of the doctor in the back of the head. In the room, he soaked telephone books with lighter fluid and set them ablaze under the curtains. Essex dropped a Pan-African flag
onto the floor beside the bodies of the couple as he left. Down on the 11th floor, Essex shot his way into rooms and set more fires. On the 11th floor, he shot and killed Frank Schneider, the hotel assistant manager, and shot Walter Collins, the hotel general manager. Collins died in the hospital three weeks later as a result of the gunshot wounds.
The police and fire department quickly arrived. Two officers tried to use a fire truck's ladder to enter the building, but were shot at by Essex. A few minutes later, Essex shot and killed NOPD Officers Phillip Coleman and Paul Persigo from his perch on the 18th floor.
Attempting to rescue trapped officers, Deputy Chief Louis Sirgo was fatally shot in the spine by Essex. Lt. Lewis Townsend, a Tulane medical student, walked into the open field to carry the wounded officer to safety, then returned to class.
Seeing the story on TV, Lt. General Chuck Pitman of the United States Marine Corps
offered the use of a CH-46 military helicopter
to assist the police officers. The helicopter was loaded with armed men and sent up. By this time, Essex had retreated up to the roof of the building where he and the helicopter exchanged many rounds over many hours. As nightfall came, Essex managed to hole himself up in a concrete cubicle that would protect him in the northwest side of the roof. As he stepped out in the open to fire again on the helicopter, and after hitting the helicopter's transmission, Essex was barraged with fatal gunfire from police sharpshooters on the roofs of adjacent buildings as well as the automatic weapons aboard the helicopter. An autopsy later revealed more than 200 gunshot wounds.
Before the attack, the television station WWL received a handwritten note from Essex. It read:
'Africa greets you. On December 31, 1972, aprx. 11 p.m., the downtown New Orleans Police Department will be attacked. Reason — many, but the death of two innocent brothers will be avenged. And many others.
P.S. Tell pig Giarrusso the felony action squad ain't shit.
Mata
Essex is now buried in an unmarked grave in Maplewood Cemetery in Emporia, Kansas.
Japanese doom metal
band Church of Misery
recorded a song about Mark Essex called "Soul Discharge" on their album The Second Coming.
A news report of the shootings was seen in the movie The Assassination of Richard Nixon
.
Adrienne Kennedy wrote a play based on Essex titled "An Evening with Dead Essex." It opened in 1973 at the American Place Theatre in New York City.
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
on December 31, 1972 and January 7, 1973.
Background
Mark James Robert Essex was born in Emporia, KansasEmporia, Kansas
Emporia is a city in and the county seat of Lyon County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 24,916. Emporia lies between Topeka and Wichita at the intersection of U.S. Route 50 with Interstates 335 and 35 on the Kansas Turnpike...
. After graduating from Emporia Senior High School in 1967 Essex attended Emporia State University, where he dropped out after only one semester. He joined the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
as a dental technician
Dental technician
A dental technologist is a member of the dental team who, upon presciption from a dental clinician, constructs custom made restorative and dental appliances.There are four major disciplines within dental technology...
in 1969, stationed in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, where he claimed he was subjected to two years of ceaseless racial abuse. His black friends tried to explain to him that racism in the military was just a bitter pill that he had to learn to swallow. Another black friend claimed "he came into the military expecting it to be just like Emporia. He quickly found out that it wasn't". He went absent without leave (AWOL) from October 19 - November 16, 1970. He was given a general discharge for unsuitability on 10 February 1971, for "character and behavior disorders." After his discharge, he became involved with black radicals in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
and later joined the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
Black Panthers.
New Year's Eve, 1972
At the age of 23 and living in New Orleans, Essex began targeting police officers. On New Year's Eve 1972, Essex parked his car and went down Perdido Street, a block from the New Orleans Police DepartmentNew Orleans Police Department
The New Orleans Police Department has primary responsibility for law enforcement in New Orleans, Louisiana. The department's jurisdiction covers all of Orleans Parish, while the city is divided into eight police districts....
. He hid in a parking lot across from the busy central lockup and used a Ruger .44 Magnum carbine to kill Cadet Alfred Harrell, 19. Lt. Horace Perez was also wounded in the attack. Harrell was black, although Essex said he was going to kill "just honkies
Honky
Honky is a racial slur for white people, predominantly heard in the United States...
" before beginning his murderous attacks.
Essex evaded being taken into custody by jumping a chain link fence and running across I-10, while setting off firecrackers as a diversion. Essex then ran into Gert Town, an area renowned for high crime and hostility towards police. In Gert Town, Essex broke into the Burkart building, a warehouse and manufacturing plant on the corner of Euphrosine and South Gayoso. Upon entering the building, an alarm alerted police to a break-in at the business. A K-9 unit with Officers Edwin Hosli Sr. and Harold Blappert responded to the call, not realizing the connection of the break-in to the attack on central lockup. When Officer Hosli went to get his German Shepherd out of the back seat of the car, Essex shot him in the back. Essex then started shooting the car, shattering the windshield. Officer Blappert then crawled across the front seat to the radio and called for back-up. Officer Blappert then fired four shots at the spot where he saw muzzle flashes from Essex's rifle, then he pulled his partner's body onto the front seat of the car and waited for back-up. When the back-up arrived, they sent two dogs into the building to search for Essex, but Essex had escaped again. Officer Hosli would later die from his wounds on March 5, 1973.
January 7, 1973
It was 10:15 a.m., January 7, 1973, when Essex shot grocer Joe Perniciaro with his .44 Magnum carbine. Essex was making his way to the Downtown Howard Johnson'sHoward Johnson's
Howard Johnson's is a chain of hotels and restaurants, located primarily throughout the United States and Canada. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Howard Johnson's was the largest restaurant chain in the United States, with over 1,000 restaurants...
Hotel. Gaining entry from a fire stairwell on the 18th floor, Essex told three startled black hotel employees not to worry, as he was only there to kill white people. In the hallway in front of room 1829 Essex found a 27-year-old vacationing Dr. Robert Steagall and his wife Betty. After a struggle with Steagall, Essex shot him in the chest. He then shot the wife of the doctor in the back of the head. In the room, he soaked telephone books with lighter fluid and set them ablaze under the curtains. Essex dropped a Pan-African flag
Pan-African flag
The Pan-African flag, also referred to as the UNIA flag, Afro-American flag or Black Liberation Flag, is a tri-color flag consisting of three equal horizontal bands colored red, black and green. It was originally created as an official banner to represent an international community for all African...
onto the floor beside the bodies of the couple as he left. Down on the 11th floor, Essex shot his way into rooms and set more fires. On the 11th floor, he shot and killed Frank Schneider, the hotel assistant manager, and shot Walter Collins, the hotel general manager. Collins died in the hospital three weeks later as a result of the gunshot wounds.
The police and fire department quickly arrived. Two officers tried to use a fire truck's ladder to enter the building, but were shot at by Essex. A few minutes later, Essex shot and killed NOPD Officers Phillip Coleman and Paul Persigo from his perch on the 18th floor.
Attempting to rescue trapped officers, Deputy Chief Louis Sirgo was fatally shot in the spine by Essex. Lt. Lewis Townsend, a Tulane medical student, walked into the open field to carry the wounded officer to safety, then returned to class.
Seeing the story on TV, Lt. General Chuck Pitman of the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
offered the use of a CH-46 military helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
to assist the police officers. The helicopter was loaded with armed men and sent up. By this time, Essex had retreated up to the roof of the building where he and the helicopter exchanged many rounds over many hours. As nightfall came, Essex managed to hole himself up in a concrete cubicle that would protect him in the northwest side of the roof. As he stepped out in the open to fire again on the helicopter, and after hitting the helicopter's transmission, Essex was barraged with fatal gunfire from police sharpshooters on the roofs of adjacent buildings as well as the automatic weapons aboard the helicopter. An autopsy later revealed more than 200 gunshot wounds.
Before the attack, the television station WWL received a handwritten note from Essex. It read:
'Africa greets you. On December 31, 1972, aprx. 11 p.m., the downtown New Orleans Police Department will be attacked. Reason — many, but the death of two innocent brothers will be avenged. And many others.
P.S. Tell pig Giarrusso the felony action squad ain't shit.
Mata
Aftermath
After the smoke had cleared, a tally revealed that Essex had shot 19 people, including 10 police officers. New Orleans police later entered the residence of Essex at 2619 1/2 Dryades St. and found the apartment completely covered from floor to ceiling with racist anti-white graffiti.Essex is now buried in an unmarked grave in Maplewood Cemetery in Emporia, Kansas.
Cultural references
Essex is mentioned at length in Gil Scott Heron's version of Inner City BluesJapanese doom metal
Doom metal
Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres...
band Church of Misery
Church of Misery
is a doom metal band from Tokyo, Japan. Church of Misery's style melds early-era Black Sabbath style doom with psychedelic rock.-History:Most songs by Church of Misery are about serial killers and mass murderers...
recorded a song about Mark Essex called "Soul Discharge" on their album The Second Coming.
A news report of the shootings was seen in the movie The Assassination of Richard Nixon
The Assassination of Richard Nixon
The Assassination of Richard Nixon is a 2004 American film, directed by Niels Mueller. It stars Sean Penn, Don Cheadle and Naomi Watts, and is based on the story of would-be assassin Samuel Byck, who plotted to kill Richard Nixon in 1974. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2004...
.
Adrienne Kennedy wrote a play based on Essex titled "An Evening with Dead Essex." It opened in 1973 at the American Place Theatre in New York City.