In 1925, a shooting at Ballard Elementary during the school day left one man dead and another wounded, a duel that started over the custody of a young boy.
In a speech to the Manatee County Historical Society in 1985, Col. G. Warren Johnson, Jr. told the story of when real estate dealer John J. "Jack" Lamb shot and killed Harold P. Gates near the cafeteria of Ballard Elementary while children played outside.
A transcript of the speech, kept in the Florida history files at the Manatee County Central Library, described it as a "miracle" that none of the children was struck by flying bullets.
According to the speech, the conflict started when Gates, whose family had cared for the son of Lamb's wife for eight years, went to the school. Billy Rice Parker, who was living then with his mother, told his teacher he was afraid he was going to be kidnapped. A phone call was made to Roena Irene Lamb, who called her husband.
Jack Lamb went to the school with a pistol, confronted Gates and killed him. Five bullets were recovered from Gates' body. Lamb was struck by one bullet. He was later found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. He was eventually pardoned and he moved to Washington, D.C., where some say he was seen working as a police officer.
