Chief Burt was shot and killed while investigating a report of a man shooting a gun. The suspect was upset about not getting a job at a local store and started to menace the owner with a pistol. As Chief Burt and another officer responded the man went to another location and obtained a .45 caliber Springfield rifle. When the Chief approached the man at 2nd South and Main Street the man shot Chief Burt in the chest. The suspect then shot and wounded the second officer before being taken into custody. An angry crowd gathered at the jail, forcibly removed the man, and then lynched him. Chief Burt had been in law enforcement for 24 years and was survived by his wife.