On this day, Jan. 13, in 1939, Doc Barker, of the notorious “Bloody Barkers,” was killed by prison guards as he attempted to escape from Alcatraz Prison. Arthur “Doc” Barker was the third son of Kate “Ma” Barker, the mother of a brood of criminals during the “public enemy era.” Despite his nickname, Doc Barker was not terribly bright. After a series of Midwest bank robberies, kidnappings and murders, Doc Barker was captured in Chicago on Jan. 8, 1935. In his apartment, agents found a map to the gang’s hide-out in Florida, leading to the killing of Ma Barker and son Freddy Barker.

At Alcatraz, Doc Barker managed to climb over the prison walls but was spotted on the island’s rock-strewn shore and fatally shot by guards.

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