Inspector Frank Chapman

Frank Chapman

Inspector Frank Chapman was shot and killed while investigating reports that a group of Mexican smugglers had shot up the town of Lajitas, Texas.

He and another inspector had just arrived in the town to investigate the reports when they were ambushed. Inspector Chapman was shot and killed instantly. A Texas Rangers company arrested 14 smugglers in connection with Inspector Chapman's murder, but it not known if any were indicted or convicted.

Inspector Chapman was reported to have seen much service on the frontier as a lawman. He was probably a Deputy U.S. Marshal around 1893, a Texas Ranger in 1880-1881, and a Mounted Customs Inspector since the early 1900s. He was survived by his wife and four children.