Nicholas Gustafson

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Nicholas Gustafson

Nicholas Gustafson ( unknown – September 7, 1876) was a Swedish immigrant killed in the James-Younger Gang bank raid in Northfield, Minnesota.

[edit] The Bank Raid

Nicholas Gustafson had been a recent immigrant to Northfield, Minnesota from Sweden. It is the general consensus that he didn't speak enough English to understand what was going on during the raid. Consequently, when the James-Younger Gang told him to move, he didn't understand them and was fatally shot on September 7, 1876. It is up to interpretation exactly who killed him, as Cole Younger pleaded guilty to his murder, but also claimed he wasn't the primary killer. He later stated "I have always believed that the man Nicholas Gustafson... was hit by a glancing shot from Manning's or Wheeler's rifle. If any of our party shot him, it must have been Woods."