A St. Patrick's Day Tragedy
By William Ray Heitzmann
as printed by the Catholic New Yorker March 12, 1998
"Mad gunman kills boy here, wounds six before capture" screamed the front page of the Times.
A St. Patrick's Day Tragedy
By William Ray Heitzmann
as printed by the Catholic New Yorker March 12, 1998
As students at Power Memorial Academy practiced on March 15, 1948, for the St. Patrick's Day Parade, a deranged man, Marko L. Markovich, opened fire killing one, Thomas Brady, wounding four other students and two nonstudents.
The private Catholic high school, located at the time at 161 W. 61st St. (61st and Amsterdam Avenue) in Manhattan, had a strong academic tradition; it served the upwardly mobile ethnics of the city, Long Island, Westchester and northern New Jersey. Power Memorial, which closed in 1984, was conducted by the Irish Christian Brother. The parade, for some who had been born in Ireland and many who were of Irish ancestry, was a major annual event; consequently significant attention focused on parade marching practice. The enthusiasm of the faculty engulfed the student; the school's band and marching unit frequently won trophies for their excellent parade performance.
Evidently, it was Markovich's hate of Catholics that provoked the tragedy. Following his arrest he stated, "The Catholics, the Italians and the politicians, they killed my boy, they killed my Jovan." In a later interview, he told police, "That word Catholic makes me mad, I start to shoot." Markovich's son had died four years earlier from a brain hemorrhage "from natural causes."
The incident began as Power students were walking in front of the 12th Regiment Armory then located at 61st and Ninth Avenue (currently the site of Fordham University Law School). The slayer had asked who these people were and learned they were boys from the local Catholic school. He pulled a gun and started firing, hitting several victims. In the chaos that followed, he confronted others, but his gun misfired. He pulled out another and shot Thomas Brady dead.
With a hostile crowd in pursuit, he headed north toward 62nd Street, then to 63rd. Police joined the chase, and he ran into a brownstone at 31 W. 63rd St. He raced to the roof where he was met by a volley of police gunfire. He ran down the stairs and was, after vicious resistance, captured and cuffed. The crowd outside the building had grown very large and angry; the fugitive was quickly put in a police care and rushed to the station on West 54th Street. He was booked and recommended for a mental examination at Bellevue Hospital.
In the days that followed, The New York times writer Meyer Berger provided information to new-thirsty New Yorkers.
On March 16, a Memorial Mass was celebrated for Thomas Brady in St. Paul the Apostle Church on Columbus Avenue and 58th Street. The entire student body of Power Memorial marched to the church. At the mass, Paulist Father Francis McGough asked the student to pray for the healing of those injured and for Brady's soul. "Hate is no solution to any problem," he told them. He also revealed that the deceased was the last boy to have his confession heard before the group walked to the armory; minutes later he was dead. Brady had intentions of entering the religious life; he has been called by some a martyr.
At the service it was announced that the academy's seniors and juniors would march in the parade but without the music. Their flags and drums would be wrapped in black to remember their fallen comrade. Markovich continued this irrational behavior in Bellevue. Some of the detectives believed he has long staked out the academy and took advantage of the moment when he came upon the parade practice.
Sun and mild weather greeted more than 1 million spectators and 80,000 parade marchers, as did President Harry S. Truman and Gov. Thomas E. Dewey. The celebratory atmosphere of the parade turned somber as the sound of the muffled drums announced the arrival of the Power Memorial Academy contingent at the reviewing stand. The school's principal, Brother William A. Hennessy, C.F.C, approached Truman, who expressed his condolences and wishes for those wounded. The unit moved on.
The Brady funeral, held on Friday, March 19, drew a throng of 900 people, including officials of the city and the archdiocese, into Incarnation Church located at 175th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, more than 2,000 gathered outside. St. Francis Xavier Academy in Manhattan, a military preparatory school and a longtime sports rival of Power Memorial, sent a contingent to serve as a military honor guard. The boy's uncle, Father John F. McEntire, celebrated the Mass. Burial was in Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne.
In the days, weeks, months and years that followed the story faded from public memory. However, periodic news pieces on Marko Markovich, the gunman appeared. In April he pleaded insanity; psychiatrists at Bellevue concurred with his plea. Later that month, again with the agreement of psychiatrists, he was confined to Mattewan State Hospital at the age of 64.
Heitzmann, a member of the Department of Education and Human Services at Villanova University, is a graduate of Power Memorial Academy.
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On Sunday, February 25, 2001 Tom McGuire ('49) wrote to say;
Hello Jose
Your page on the tragic shooting in 1948 brought back sad and chilling memories.
On that day, I too, had stopped by the side door of the Armory, to see what was going on inside. I might have lingered a while longer but I was on my way to meet my sister across town. If I had stayed, only God knows what may have happened to me.
In all, seven boys were shot that day. Thomas Brady was killed. He died in the street outside the Armory with his head cradled by his Religion textbook. Fred Weiss, William O'Connor and Brendan Cassidy were seriously wounded with bullets in the chest and/or back. Robert McArdle, Edward Hackett and Roderick Williams were less seriously injured with wounds to the arm, abdomen and thumb. The toll might have been higher except that the assailant's pistol jammed. Unfortunately, he had a second weapon which he used to fire into the crowd of students.
Tom Brady was buried from the Church Of The Incarnation in upper Manhattan on Saturday March 20th. There were over 900 people in the church and about 2000 outside, in the rain. Cadets from St. Francis Xavier formed an honor guard and ten of Tom Brady's classmates, including Robert McArdale and Edward Hackett, acted as pallbearers.
Seventy fellow students formed a double line outside the church through which the casket was carried into the church.
Participation in the St. Patrick's Day Parade that year was grim. Amidst the music and joy of the other participants , Power marched to the slow steady beat of muffled drums and mute instruments. All students wore a black armband in addition to their Power hats and sashes. As the group went along, whispers of recognition spread among the spectators who then fell into respectful silence. Men removed their hats and many people made the Sign Of The Cross.
- A sad and eerie occasion which still stays with me still -
I am attaching a couple of pictures that are pertinent to this story. You may want to put them up, if you find them printable.
Thanks for all your effort on the website
Tom McGuire ('49)
Posted by Jose at April 9, 2004 11:15 PM