On March 7, 1952, King County Sheriff's Deputy Norman Silkworth is shot and killed by a man who mistakes him and other officers for armed robbers. Two other deputies are wounded in the gun battle at the Inglewood Golf and Country Club near Kenmore.
At 3:30 a.m. on March 7, 1952, four armed men masked with adhesive tape entered the Inglewood Golf and Country Club where they overpowered two night watchmen and dishwasher Ralph Bishop. The victims were tied up and the robbers proceeded to loot the safe and slot machines.
After about an hour, Bishop, age 57, worked loose of his bonds and went to his apartment upstairs to retrieve his gun. Night watchmen Cyrus T. Dorsey and Lloyd Cannon also managed to get free, but by that time, the robbers had left the club. Dorsey and Cannon went to a nearby residence where they telephoned the Sheriff's Office.
In the meantime, Bishop, armed with his gun, went through the club and observed the broken slot machines and open safe. Sheriff's Deputies Norman Silkworth, Claude Dodd, and William Randecker and Washington State Patrol Trooper Jim Terhar responded to the robbery report and blocked the entrances with their cars.
The officers entered the club. The deputies announced themselves, but Bishop was not wearing his hearing aid. Bishop heard someone say, "There he is" ( Seattle P-I) and mistook the officers for the robbers and opened fire. Deputies Dodd and Randecker were hit and fled the scene in their car after radioing for help, they left Silkworth and Terhar behind. Dodd flagged down a Seattle Police car and he and Randecker were rushed to King County Hospital for treatment.
State Patrol Troopers and Sheriff's Deputies responded to the scene. They found Silkwood inside, dead from bullets in his neck and head. Bishop was found wandering about the grounds. He took officers to his room where he showed them his gun.
