Keeper Andrew Van Kuren

Andrew Van Kuren

Keeper Andrew Van Kuren was shot and killed while attempting to apprehend a violent suspect who had murdered two officers three days earlier.

Keeper Van Kuren served as the jail keeper of the City Workhouse. He was survived by his five young children and elderly mother.

On July 23rd, 1900, three New Orleans police Officers approached a man who was sitting with a friend. The subject produced a handgun and opened fire, wounding one of the officers.

The following day, a team of officers tracked the suspect to his home on Fourth Street, between Rampart Street and Saratoga Street. The man opened fire on them with a .38 caliber Winchester rifle as they entered the home, killing Captain John Day and Peter Patrolman Lamb. Other officers immediately surrounded the home, however, the man was able to escape.

Investigators received a tip on July 27th, 1900, indicating that the man was hiding in a home in the 1200 block of Saratoga Street. As officers attempted to take him into custody he opened fire, killing Sergeant Gabe Porteous and Corporal John Lally. The man then barricaded himself inside of the home. Keeper Van Kuren and several other officers took up a position in a home at 1209 Rampart Street that provided a view of the home in which the man was barricaded.

As Keeper Van Kuren stood in a doorway of the home the man opened fire from a window, killing him.

The suspect was shot and killed by other officers when he attempted to escape from the home.