This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. (November 2018) |
Part of the internment of Japanese Americans | |
Date | July 27, 1942 |
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Location | Near Lordsburg, Hidalgo County, New Mexico, United States |
Type | Double-homicide by shooting |
Motive | Disputed |
Deaths | 2 |
Accused | Clarence Burleson |
Charges | Manslaughter |
Verdict | Not guilty |
The Lordsburg killings refers to the shooting of two elderly Japanese American men named Toshio Kobata and Hirota Isomura at an internment camp outside Lordsburg, New Mexico, on July 27, 1942. The shooter, Private First Class Clarence Burleson, was charged with murder, but this was later reduced to manslaughter and he was acquitted after testifying that he was following military protocol.[1][2]