Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1893-07-06
FATALLY INJURED IN A RIOT
Drunken Negroes Raise a Big
Row at KirkWoods
DETECTIVE M'VEY BADLY Hv1RT
William Benson's Injuries
May Prove Fatal.
An Exciting Riot at Kirkwood Tuesday
--Drunken Negroes Cause tho Trouble
--One Man Probably Fatally Hurt
While n Dozen Others are Suffering
From Wounds More OF Less Severe.

A riot occurred at the railway station
at Kirkwood, about @ o'clock Tuesday
night, which eliminated in the probably
fatal injury of William Benson, young
man of this city, and the wounding al
fully half dozen others. The crowda
were returning from the races at the
kite track, and were hurrying to the
special train waiting at the railroad sta
tion. The train was in two sections,
the first section standing just beyond
the depot and the second section lying
toward the south several hundred yards
distant Both trains were densely
packed with people, while fullyrl59od
stood about the station and around the
Kirkwood hotel, conducted by ex-Polica
Sergeant John NJ. Stewart. There were
lot of drunken and boisterous negroes
in the crowd.
The latter were just about to create
riot when the first section of the special
was preparing to pull out from the ste,
tion. A large crowd gathered about tho
rlotous negroes and the latter came to
blows. The attention of State Detectives
Witsil and McVey and Police Sergeants
Shields and Bailey, who were on the
train, was directed toward the rioters,
and leaving their seats in the first sec
ton of the special, the officers rushed to
the scene of the disturbance. The first
step taken by the detectives was to
notify the negroes they were officers,
and to attempt to put stop to the fight.
The negroes retaliated with a fusilade
on the officers. Detective McVey was
struck with club by Rebecca Segars, a
negro woman, and for a time was COM
pletely dazed. Before he could recover
himself some one hurled big stone,
striking the detective on top of the
head, and cutting fearful cash. He fell
to the ground, while streams of blood
flowed from the wounds in the head and
completely saturated his clothing.
He was picked up by Detective Witsil,
Sergeant Shields and Bailey and several
others, and had scarcely gotten on his
feet when George Anderson, colored,
| fired two pistol shots at the officers. One
bali whizzcd past Detective Witsils
| head, while the second came within an
ace Of hitting Sergeant Shields. Detec-
tive McVey, dazed and bleeding from
the wounds in his head, was removed to
| the Kirkwood hotel where DIR. Joseph
X. Smith dressed his injuries.
| The officers again turned their atten-
| tion TO the negroes who had started the
riot. Some Of the latter whipped out
razors, which glistened above the heads
of the crowd and then descended upon
| whoever CHANGED TO come in contact
| with them. Others drew pistols and
fired promiscuously in the air, while
some hurled fragments of cobblestones
and welded loaded canes and black
jacks. Weapons were as numerous al
| most as riotous negroes.
William Benson, a bystander, was hit
with stone, which struck him on top
of the head, producing compound
fracture of the skull. Benson was
brought to this city and taken to the
Delaware Hospital, where he now lies
in a precarious condition. Thomas
Lowry Of Kirkwood had his head split
open by brick, while Frank Moreland,
young man, was slashed with razor.
Neither were fatally injured.
The officers arrested the following
persons, all of whom are colored, for
completely in the riot: George Ander-
son, Rebecca Segars, Lewis ii. Henson
and Curtis Buck. Anderson is said to
have been one of the foremost partici-
pants in the riot. After he had hurled a
stone at McVey and fired several shots
in the air, he fled from the scene and
took refuge in grocery store. The
crowd entered the store in hot pursuit
and the negro retreated out at the rear
door. He was finally captured in the
yard at the rear of the store, where one
of the crowd secured a rope and wanted
to lynch the rioter, until dissuaded by
cooler heads. Rebecca Segars became
mixed up in the riot through her son,
who welded a razor and club. Think
frenzied woman rushed into the hottest
of the fray, and struck Detective McVey
with heavy hickory club. She was
in return struck by rock and was sent
screaming from the scene. She was af-
forwards arrested with the other rioters.
The greatest excitement was caused
by the riotous actions OF the negroes.
People were thrown into the widest
terror over the shooting and flying frag-
ments of rock and the sight Of bleeding
men. Some of the crowd, with less
bravery than others, ran pell-mell from
the scene and informed others running
to learn the nature of the fight, that
several people had been killed and a
number wounded. 1t was currently re-
ported that Detective McVey had been
killed. The fight lasted about 10 minutes,
at the conclusion of which the firsi sec
tion of the train pulled out from the
depot, bearing away over thousand OF
people from the scene of battle.
The remaining crowd boarded the
second section, on which the injured
men were placed and brought to this
city. Detective McVey is at his home,
ON Parish street, while Benson is at the
Delaware Hospital. A number of other
people were injured in the fight, but goi
: away before their names could be OBJ.
tanned.
The prisoners were given hearing
before Justice Monaghan yesterday and
were held TO await the result OF Benson's
} injuries