1901

July 30, 1901
Gunfire – Congress at San Jacinto

DOB – 03/07/1870, Age 31
Badge – 17
Final Resting Place – Glenwood
City – Houston, TX

The headlines of the Houston Daily Press rang out with news of the tragedy, "Two are Dead." Officer William Weiss shot through the heart by J.T. Vaughn. The circumstances leading up to the shooting of Officer Weiss began with the arrest of John T. Vaughn about 7:00 p.m. on July 29, 1901, for discharging a firearm through the window of his apartment. Officer Herman Youngst was the arresting officer.

After the arrest, Officer Youngst continued his tour of duty as beat officer near San Jacinto and Congress. Mr. John Vaughn had apparently been released from the city jail after posting bond about 11:00 p.m. and had gone to his business and met his brother, Newt Vaughn.
Mr. R.E. Kahn, a local lawyer was asked to go with the Vaughn brothers to find Officer Youngst. Apparently, Mr. John Vaughn had not picked up his property after the arrest and wished to ask the arresting officer how he should go about it. Mr. Kahn stated: "We walked up the street and met Bill Weiss (Officer W.F. Weiss) and Mr. Weiss asked me where I was going. I stated to him the purpose of the trip and Mr. Weiss then remembered "Wait a minute and I'll go with you and show you where you can find Herman Youngst." The trio met Officer Youngst at the corner of San Jacinto and Congress where Officer Youngst directed Mr. Vaughn to the police station to inquire about his property and walked away to continue his tour of duty.
At approximately 1:00 p.m., the proprietor (J.B. Youan) of a local saloon at the corner of San Jacinto and Congress testified as follows: "John Vaughn and Kahn came into the saloon where Newt Vaughn had proceeded about 5 minutes. All three took a drink, walked out, and I saw Officer Youngst, Kahn and the two Vaughns standing on the sidewalk talking. A few minutes later Kahn and a Mr. Keepuick came in to take a drink . . . I saw Officer Weiss and the two Vaughns standing in the west door of my saloon talking. I could not understand what their conversation was, but I saw Officer Weiss push Newt Vaughn back and John Vaughn say "he is our friend" and at the same time he pulled a pistol from his hip pocket and commenced shooting. Right after that both the Vaughns ran through the saloon and John put the gun he had to his forehead, as though he was going to kill himself. The other one stopped him. John then went out the back door of the saloon." Officers Herman Youngst, Henry Lee and J.C. James heard the shots (three) and came towards where they heard them. Officer Weiss had been killed almost instantly. Officer James and Lee went through the saloon and exited the back door behind a Japanese restaurant. As they did, Officer Lee was fired upon and returned fire. Both Lee and James were tangled up in a clothesline and both received cuts on the foreheads but continued the chase. The chase continued almost a full circle around the block to 1113 1/2 Congress where then wounded John Vaughn surrendered and was carried down the stairs. This was just a few feet where Officer Weiss lay dead. At the inquest, it was brought out that Officer Lee had probably fired the fatal shot behind the Japanese restaurant and that the gun belonging to Mr. Vaughn was found there as well with four spent rounds in its chamber. Officer Weiss was shot three times, twice in the chest and once in the back. Officer William F. (Bill) Weiss was survived by his wife and two small children. Deputy Chief Thompson stated "almost with tears in his eyes described him as true as steel and as brave as a lion." Officer Weiss was buried at Greenwood Cemetery at 4:00 p.m. on July 31, 1901.
Note: Six months later, Officers Herman Youngst and J.C. James were killed in the line of duty on December 12, 1901 in an unrelated incident. The widow of all three officers petitioned city council for help since the loss of their husbands had left them destitute. City council awarded each family three months back pay which amounted to about $180 to each family.

Source – Houston Police Department Museum Files