Considering that the main events of this book take place in less than a week, the body count is quite high. Three people die over the course of this relatively short novel. The first to die is Bob Sheldon. He is a Soc and Cherry's boyfriend. He is killed by Johnny Cade. Bob Sheldon and his goons attacked Ponyboy and Johnny one night, and Bob nearly drowned Ponyboy. The only reason Ponyboy survived the encounter was because Johnny killed Bob to protect his fellow Greaser. Johnny and Ponyboy then fled town in order to avoid any trouble with law enforcement. They holed up in an abandoned church. Unfortunately, the church caught on fire, and Johnny was badly injured from falling debris. He is rushed to the hospital, but his injuries are beyond what the medical staff can fix. He dies in the hospital. The entire Greaser gang is very broken up about Johnny's death; however, Dally doesn't handle the death well. His grief and anger causes him to act out and rob a grocery store. Dally is surrounded by police, and Dally pulls out a gun. The police shoot and kill him. It is a debated point about whether or not Dally wanted to die. He knows that his gun is unloaded, but the police do not. Dally is a savvy and experienced criminal. He knows what the police response is going to be to his pulling out a firearm.