1927 жылғы Колорадо штатындағы көміршілердің атылуы

1927 police shooting of striking miners in Serene, Colorado, United States

The Columbine Mine massacre occurred in 1927, in the town of Serene, Colorado. In the midst of the 1927–1928 Colorado Coal Strike across the state, workers had been picketing one of the few remaining operating mines, in Serene. A fight broke out between Colorado state militia and a group of striking coal miners, during which the unarmed miners were attacked with firearms. The miners testified that machine guns were fired at them, which the state police disputed. Six strikers were killed, and dozens were injured.

The company town of Serene, Colorado, nestled on a rolling hillside, was the home of the Columbine mine. The strike was five weeks old, and strikers had been conducting morning rallies at Serene for two weeks, for the Columbine was one of the few coal mines in the state to remain in operation. On November 21, 1927, five hundred miners, some accompanied by their wives and children, arrived at the north gate just before dawn. They carried three United States flags. That morning, the recently disbanded state police known as the Colorado Rangers were recalled to duty and would meet the picketers and bar their path. The miners were surprised to see men dressed in civilian clothes but armed with pistols, rifles, riot guns and tear gas. The Rangers were backed up by rifle toting mine guards stationed on the mine dump. The Head of the Rangers, Louis Scherf, shouted to the strikers, "Who are your leaders?" "We're all leaders!" came the reply. Scherf announced that the strikers would not be allowed into the town, and for a few moments, the strikers hesitated outside the fence. There was discussion, with many strikers asserting their right to proceed. They argued that Serene had a public post office, and some of their children were enrolled in the school in Serene. One of the Rangers reportedly taunted, "If you want to come in here, come ahead, but we'll carry you out". Strike leader Adam Bell stepped forward and asked for the gate to be unlocked. As he put his hand on the gate, one of the Rangers struck him with a club. A sixteen year old boy stood nearby and was holding one of the flags. The banner was snatched from him, and in the tug of war that followed, the flagpole broke over the fence.

The state police later testified that they had not used machine guns in the fight. The miners and some witnesses testified that machine guns were used. Some witnesses identified a mine guard who had climbed the tipple and may have operated the machine gun mounted there, providing one possible explanation for the discrepancy in testimony. However, one of Scherf's men reportedly operated the machine gun near the water tank.