Meanwhile Coy went back into cell #404, and he and Cretzer started methodically going through the cell inch by inch in case the guards had been bold enough to try and hide the key there. Suddenly Coy had the idea that they might have attempted to flush the key. This seemed like a long shot, but there was a slim chance that it was lying hidden inside the toilet, just out of view. Coy took off the guard’s coat, positioned himself on his hands and knees, and reached into the saltwater-filled toilet bowl. As he groped along the bottom, he suddenly felt a piece of metal with the shape and texture of a brass key. He maneuvered the key out with his fingers, and strained to read the number. Sure enough, it was #107. Coy handed the key to Thompson, who carefully guided it into the slot, and attempted to turn the mechanism... But the key still would not work. The dead bolt had been specially designed to jam if it was sufficiently tampered with. The security design had worked, and despite the inmates’ frenzied efforts, the key would not budge the heavy steel dead bolt.
The heavy steel door leading to the recreation yard from the main cellhouse.
By now Cliff Fish was incredibly nervous, and he rang all of the phones located at the main internal posts. The ringing phones could be heard throughout the cellhouse, and this seemed to contribute to the stress of the inmates involved in the plot. Still there was no answer, and at about 2:00 p.m. Officer Fish called the Warden at his residence. Mrs. Johnston answered the phone, and explained that the Warden was taking a nap and had asked not to be disturbed. Fish explained that there was a crisis in the cellhouse and stressed that he needed to speak with the Warden urgently. Fish then briefed Johnston about the situation. Johnston instructed him to contact all of the tower posts as well as the Associate Warden, and added that he would wash up and meet Fish in the Armory within a few minutes. Fish then found himself in a rare predicament – the Warden had left him to decide whether or not to sound the siren. At this point, he had been unable to confirm any serious problem. But once the siren was engaged, it would sound for three minutes with no way to deactivate it – and the siren’s wail would signal to the world that there was a major situation at Alcatraz. At 2:07 p.m., Fish reached over and unlocked the siren cover and pressed the activation key.
When the siren began to sound, it could be heard across the Bay as far as the town of Marin. The conspirators were keen to the obvious. This was it – they now knew that the chances of escape were almost nonexistent. The island would soon be swarming with armed officers, and measures were probably already in place to prevent them from gaining access to the launch. Jim Quillen would recall in a later interview that he left D Block around this time and walked out onto Seedy Street, asking Cretzer if he and fellow inmate Jack Pepper could come along. Cretzer was apparently conscious that their chances of escape where dashed, and he shook hands with Quillen and told him to go back to his cell, because he didn’t think that they were going to make it to the mainland. He asked Quillen to try to get Sam Shockley to return to his cell too, but Shockley motioned them to wait a minute, and then walked away. This was the last he would ever see of them.
Coy had entered the bakery carrying the Springfield rifle, and he lined up a shot to take out the Hill Tower guard, Elmus Besk. Upon hearing the siren, Besk walked out onto the catwalk to check for any unusual activity. Coy carefully punched out one of the windows and then opened fire. Elmus was struck in the legs, and dropped to the deck in severe pain from several fragments of a bullet that had struck the railing and broken apart. Fish would later recount that Besk crawled back into the tower and phoned him, reporting that he had been shot with what had seemed almost like a shotgun. Besk communicated that he would hold out until they could get him help, and dressed his own wounds using rags.
Coy then ran up into the kitchen and punched out a pane from another window, this time targeting the Road Tower guard, Irving Levinson. The first bullet ripped through the window and Levinson quickly dropped to the floor for cover. He scanned the prison windows to see if he could make out where the shot had come from. He noticed the yard wall officer who was lying on the catwalk, looking over at him and motioning toward the kitchen. Levinson pulled his rifle over and remained ready to fire, while attempting to determine where the shot had come from. Coy then walked to the other side of the mess hall and punched out another pane, this time taking aim at the Dock Tower guard, Jim Comerford. Coy squeezed off another round, and the bullet sliced through the Dock Tower window. Comerford dropped onto the narrow perimeter catwalk, taking aim at the cellhouse with his rifle as he heard the bullet whiz past his shoulder. Comerford’s wife heard the shot and ran toward the tower, attempting to see if her husband was injured. Comerford waived that he was not hurt and directed her to go back home and take cover. The powerful rifle shots reverberated all over the island and it was later reported that they had been heard as far away as the shores of Marin and San Francisco.
One interesting detail is that the Armory Officer was usually responsible for calibrating and adjusting the target sights on every Springfield that was returned to the Armory. Fish would later note that his adjustments had been off by nearly six inches and this probably had affected Coy’s aim, thus saving the lives of a few officers. Several of the island’s residents heard the rifle fire and retreated into their homes. They knew that the chance of an inmate acquiring weapons was remote, but that nothing was impossible.
Dock Tower Guard Jim Comerford.
Captain of the Guards Henry Weinhold was an ex-marine and he had the reputation among his peers as very capable but rigid officer. After talking with Fish, Weinhold took a gas billy and demanded that he be admitted to the cellhouse. Fish had been vehemently protesting against anyone entering the embattled building, but his pleas fell upon deaf ears. Weinhold went into the cellhouse by himself. He too was quickly captured by the armed convicts and was led off to join the other hostages. But before Weinhold could be put into the cell, Shockley viciously attacked him. Jim Quillen later stated that he saw Shockley throw a punch at Weinhold, who was able to duck and avoid the blow. Shockley apparently fell into a deep rage, charging Weinhold and attempting to kick him in the groin. Weinhold blocked the force of the kick by lifting his leg, then clenched his fist and struck Shockley straight in the mouth. Shockley then went crazy, just as Carnes appeared with Officer Sundstrom, jamming the billy club sharply into his back and pushing him forward into the cell. Sam struck Sundstrom in the head, knocking him off balance. The other inmates then calmed Sam down, while Cretzer made Sundstrom strip, and confiscated his pants and wallet.
An official affidavit written by Officer Carl Sundstrom, describing the theft of his wallet by Joe Cretzer.
Associate Warden Edward J. Miller, known to his peers as “Ed” but nicknamed “Meathead” by the inmates, was at home when he received the call from Fish. Without wasting any time, Miller hiked up the steep path to the main building and hurriedly reported to the Armory. After receiving a full briefing from Fish he decided to enter the cellhouse on his own, to help ensure the safety of his fellow officers and to straighten out what he believed was a simple cellhouse fight. Once again Fish protested, knowing that something had gone seriously awry. But without further consideration, Miller grabbed a gas billy and entered the east end of the cellhouse. As he cautiously starting walking up Broadway, he observed someone who he thought to be an officer walking towards him. But within seconds he had caught a closer glimpse and he recognized that it was actually Bernie Coy, carrying a rifle. Miller quickly attempted to retreat and armed the gas billy. Coy started to run at Miller and managed to fire off two rounds. One of them struck the gas billy, causing it to explode in Miller’s face and he quickly withdrew into the sallyport, half-blinded and with moderate burns. Gate Officer Al Phillips quickly secured the main door while Miller walked back toward the administrative offices, where the Warden had just arrived.