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A mob of 1,000 or more was formed shortly thereafter on [[July 29]] and demanded entry to the [[Pensacola Old Escambia County Jail|County Jail]], where Shaw was being held. The [[Escambia County Sheriff|sheriff]], [[James C. Van Pelt]], at first attempted to reason with the crowd, and when that failed, Sheriff Van Pelt reportedly deputized the entire crowd, apparently thinking that the mob would have to obey the law and disperse if its members were sheriff's deputies. The tactic failed; instead the members of the crowd stipulated that as deputies they should be given guns and access to the jail. EventuallyAccording to the ''[[Pensacola News]]'', members of Van Pelt told the crowd , "Gentlemen, here I am. You can kill me if you want to, but if you get my prisoner, it will be over my dead body. I have sworn to do my duty, and I am going to do it if I die for it!" The mob stormed the jailtwice. The gate was broken in the first attempt, around 9 o'clock, and Van Pelt and his deputies fired a volley that dropped three men, forcing the others to retreat. A second attempt around midnight resulted in a melee, injuring Van Pelt and his brother, [[John A. Van Pelt]], and the prisoner was taken. The mob members killed in the raid were streetcar operator [[Henry C. Kellum]] and planter [[Bud Nichols]]. Shaw was dragged from his cell, through the street, to [[Plaza Ferdinand VII]]. He was hanged without a trial from a utility an electric pole in the plaza, and his body was riddled with 2,000 bullets from the angry crowd. The ''Pensacola Journal'' reported that about 1,000 people witnessed the lynching.