The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral occurred on 26 October 1881 between Town Marshal Virgil Earp, Special Policemen Morgan and Wyatt Earp, and temporary policeman Doc Holliday on one side and five members of the Cochise County Cowboys (Billy Claiborne, Ike and Billy Clanton, and Tom and Frank McLaury) on the other. Billy Clanton and the McLaury brothers were killed, while Virgil, Morgan, and Holliday were wounded.
The shootout occurred after the Cowboys rode into town bearing arms in direct contravention of a recent town ordinance which the Republican Mayor John Clum had implemented to the chagrin of the Cowboys and their Democratic ally, Sheriff Johnny Behan. The Earps and Holliday were alerted that the Cowboys had bragged about their plans to run the Earps out of own, and they rode down to the O.K. Corral to drink. While Wyatt advised his brothers and their friend Doc Holliday to wait until they got drunk and forgot about their plans, not willing to pick a fight over a misdemeanor, Virgil intended to put a stop to them, as they were breaking the law, and he was tired of seeing the people of Tombstone be terrorized by outlaws. The whole town watched as the three Earp brothers and Holliday slowly walked down the deserted street to confront the Cowboys. Behan tried to intervene, telling the lawmen that he had already disarmed the Cowboys and that he did not want any trouble, but Virgil doubted him, and the lawmen kept walking. The lawmen confronted the Cowboys in the vacant lot next to the corral and announced that they were there to disarm the outlaws, but the outlaws reached for their guns. Billy Claiborne fled through the wooden gate, refusing to take part in what was about to transpire. When Holliday winked at Billy Clanton, an insulted Billy reached for his gun, leading to a shootout. In just 30 seconds, the McLaury brothers and Billy Clanton were shot dead. Virgil was shot in the leg and Morgan Earp in the chest, and Ike escaped amid the shooting. The shootout infuriated the Cowboys, who declared war on the Earps; they crippled Virgil in an ambush in December and they murdered Morgan the next spring, leading to Wyatt's famous "Vendetta Ride".
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