While on routine patrol at about 9:30 p.m. on September 16, 1930, during his second anniversary as a law enforcement officer, Patrolman Commins found a suspicious Oldsmobile touring car and driver parked at Elm and Allen Avenues. As he approached the car, the driver blew his horn. Another man came running across the lawn of a nearby home and the driver suddenly got out of the car. One of the men pulled a gun and shot Patrolman Commins who slumped to the ground. Henry Castleberry, a butler employed at 121 Elm Street, came running out of the house and shot at the car as it roared away. Patrolman Commins also emptied his revolver at the car.
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