Medina shootout

Also known as: Gordon Kahl, Yorie Kahl, Scott Faul

Active: 1983–1983
Region: Medina, North Dakota, USA
States: AR, ND
Kind: Spree
Status: Convicted
Victims: 3

On February 13, 1983, U.S. marshals and local officers tried to arrest Gordon Kahl, a tax protester wanted for violating probation, as he left a meeting near Medina, North Dakota, about 30 miles west of Jamestown. In the gunfight that followed, U.S. Marshal Kenneth Muir and Deputy Marshal Robert Cheshire were killed and three other officers and Kahl's son Yorie were wounded. Gordon Kahl escaped. Yorie Kahl and Scott Faul were convicted that May of second-degree murder and sentenced to life. Gordon Kahl was tracked to a farmhouse near Smithville, Arkansas, where on June 3, 1983, he and Lawrence County Sheriff Gene Matthews were killed in a second shootout.

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Victims

We remember the people whose lives were taken.

Kenneth Muir · February 13, 1983
A U.S. marshal.
Robert Cheshire · February 13, 1983
A deputy U.S. marshal.
Harold Gene Matthews · June 3, 1983
Sheriff of Lawrence County, Arkansas.

Timeline of locations

February 13, 1983
Outside Medina, North Dakota (Crime scene, approximate area)
Officers tried to serve a warrant on Gordon Kahl as he left a meeting outside Medina. Two marshals were killed and three officers and Yorie Kahl were wounded in the gunfight.
June 3, 1983
Farmhouse near Smithville, Arkansas (Crime scene, approximate area)
After a tip, officers surrounded the farmhouse where Kahl was hiding. Sheriff Gene Matthews was fatally wounded, and Kahl died in the shootout and fire; he was identified by dental records.

Sources

Each location also lists its own sources in the data file.