The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre took place in 1929.
The attack occurred on February 14, 1929, at a garage in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. Seven members and associates of George “Bugs” Moran’s North Side Gang were killed after gunmen entered the building and lined the victims against a wall. Two attackers were disguised as police officers, adding to the crime’s notoriety.
The killings were part of the violent struggle among organized-crime groups during Prohibition, which began nationally in 1920. The North Side Gang competed with Al Capone’s Chicago Outfit for control of illegal liquor distribution and other rackets. Moran was thought to be the intended victim, but he was not at the garage when the shooting began.
The massacre was never conclusively solved. Capone was widely blamed in newspapers and popular histories, yet investigators lacked evidence sufficient to convict him or another alleged organizer. The event later influenced crime films, books, and discussions of federal firearms regulation.