Virgil initially avoided a confrontation with Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton, who had arrived in town early that afternoon and had not yet deposited their weapons at a hotel or stable soon after their arrival, as required by ordinance #9. Virgil had been offered armed assistance from the town Vigilance committee and the town militia, but he declined the help. Around 1:00 p.m., a miner named Ruben F. Coleman told Virgil that the Cowboys had left the Dunbar and Dexter Stable for the O.K. Corral and were still armed, and Virgil decided he had to disarm them.