The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-07-24
PatrOlman Interrupts Two
Crooks at Work.
Trying to Force Entrance
to Grocery Store.
When Officer Gave Chase One Of
Them Tried to Shoot Him.

rhings were decidedly lively In police
circles In the North End early this morn
ing. The officers stationed there had
task that kept them out in the cool air
and enabled them ITO watch the dawn
ard admire it's beauties.
The reason for the men being out was
twoioid. In the first place telephone
message had been sent to the station
about two suspicious characters and in
the second place officer Patrick j. Nc
Elroy had presented two men from enter
Ing the grocery store OF ~. ID. O'Connor
and had been fired at by one of the men.
Ii was about 2:50 O'Clock this morning
when the telephone at the station rang,
and Miss Dora Mccarthy of 56 Abbott
street Informed the Office answering. 1t
that two men were acting suspiciously
IN the yard about the house OF Mrs.
Bemis, just across the street from her
house. Tho men had been in the yard
some few minutes Miss Mccarthy stated,
and apparently were planning to enter
the home of Mrs. Bemis.
Lieutenant Murray, Sergeant Hartnett
and Officer Mccarthy immediately
started for Abbott street and searched
the neig borhood pretty thoroughly, hut
the only trace of the men that could be
obtained was that they mad gone through
the yard of the house where John j.
Irainor lives on the same street. It soon
became evident to the lieutenant and his
companions that the men made their way
from yard to yard and did not use the
streets at all and this.made 1t difficult to
follow them.
Some time after the search was begun
officer McElroy saw two men trying to
break into the store of Il. ID. O'Connor
on Camp street and went closer to them
TO Investigate their manner of doing the
business. Ths would be robbers, how
ever, scented danger and started on run
down Pleasant street and they were
closely followed by the officer. When
officer McEIroy and the fugitives bad got
ABOUT down TO North Main street one OF
the letter turned quickly round and fired
a shot from pistol he had i'm Lis hand
directly at the officer. Fortunately the
mans aim was wild, and the shot went
far from the officer II was intended for,
and the latter at once fired his own re-
volver, but not at the man.
The noise of the shots attracted the at
tention of Sergeant Thomas and Officer
Fort, who were not great distance
away. and they came to Officer McElroy's
assistance, but the men he he'd been chas-
ing had in the meanwhile disappeared,
and the last.piace they are known to have
been Is in the yard OF James Hutchin-
son on Jenkins street.
The officers who had been called to
Abbott street had, in the meanwhile,
found that the men they had been called
to find had, after doing the yards to
their hearts content, managed to get
away safely and had started toward Cat
swamp. Sergeant Thomas and officer
Fort, who arrived after the men that did
the shooting had got out OF the way,
joined with Lieutenant Murray in the
search of the section for suspicious char
acters, and they called to their assistance
all the men who could he spared from
other parts OF the 1istrict. The officers
OF the Third police station were also
notified.
The men whose plans officer McElroy
had interferred with, wore dark clothes,
derby hats and sneak shoes. One OF the
men was foot, 10 inches in height, and
the OF her foot, inches.
At about o'clock the search was
given up, and the officers returned to the
station, after some hard work which it
was not their fault had not proved more
successful.