The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-08-26
SUICIDE OF A RODBER.
when About to be Arrested
He Shoots Himself.
FIRED ONE BULLET AT PURSUERS.

unknown Man CaUght Robbing n Hons.
at Chicago-He Tries to Escape. but a
Unable To DO So, and When Corn.re,
lie Draws His Revolver, Fires One.
Upon His Pursuers and Then Takes hi,
Own Life.
Chicago, Aug 96. Finding himself shut
OH from all means OF escape, a burglar
whose identity is as yet undiscovered, shot
and instantly killed himself near the cor
ner OF Twelfth street and I.awndale ave.
nue. Monday evening. Atths time he was
oeing pursued by several police officers
under the leadership OF Lieutenant Co.'S
grove, OF the Lawndale police station, and
they had so far gained upon him that he
would soon have been in custody. The
fugitive became desperate when he real
lzed this and turned i'm his tracks 20 face
MS pursuers, at the same time drawing a
revolver He fired one shot Mt tho officers
before turning the weapon upon himself,
but the bullet flew wide of its intended
mark When he followed this shot with a
second he staggered and fell on the spot
where he was standing, dire city In front
OF the police. The officers found that life
was extinct when they picked up the limp
form. The body Is now at the county
morgue, waiting Identification
Discovery of the Burglar.
The man had been discovered leaving a
house at 5S7 Spalding avenue by Leuten-
ant Cosgrove, who was passing the place
at the time on the way to his supper. A
number of boys who were standing in
front of the house called his attention TO
the fact, as they said a man was in the
house The lieutenant was on the point
OF entering the place when one of the
youngsters called out that the stranger
was Just then escaping over the rear
fence Lieutenant Cosgrove then took up
the chase, which ended i'm the death of the
fugitive The man ran down Lawndale
avenue and then turned into Twelfth
street. The lieutenant was soon joined by
three of his officers, Policemen Ryan,
Clark, and Horan, and with this assist
ance II proved an easy matter To bring the
man to bay. The burglar was not much
OF runner and was soon exhausted The
officers closed in upon him, only to be
called upon To bear away corpse.
He Searched for Money.
The house at No 5g7 Spal ling avenue
Is the residence of George H. Bracken, a
clerk at No AIS Market street. At the
time of the tragedy none of his family was
at home and they did not return until the
police had taken possession of the place,
in order To establish the charge of burg
larry against the dead man and relieve
their consciences. OF this there was
found ample evidence, though the burglar
apparently was able To lay his hands upon
little that he cared To carry away. What
he took, sfrange to say, was an umbrella
belonging to Mrs. Bracken Why he did
not attempt To take more booty is ascribed
to the fact that he became frighte led at
the approach of Lieutenant Cosgrove,
whom he must have seen through the
window. The theory is borne out by the
of the house discovered after the
man killed himself The whole place was
torn up as II the residents contemplated
moving. Drawers and closets were open,
carpets and mattresses had been torn up,
and household effects were scattered about
the floor
Considerable Money In the House.
Bracken is the treasurer of number of
StCItl SoNlttlcs, ulnOIlp iHciu llt u pTtSlCTS,
and he says he is In the habit of keeping
cash in the house Judging
by the appearance of things, the police
think the dead man may have known of
this fact and gone into the house for the
purpose of securing money and nothing
else. The burglar was extremely we'll
dressed for a man in the ordinary every
day thieving business, and it is supposed
he would not have attempted to carry
aw Y such booty as cl thing and the like,
even If he had been given the opportunity.
The boys who discovered him were play
ing about the neighborhood at the time.
They live within a short distance of the
house and have an acquaintance
with the members of the family. Thus
they were able to tell that the burglar was
a stranger in the house. Their suspicious
were fu ther heightened by the strange
manner in which he noted the situation of
the building and appeared to satisfy him
self that there was no one at home.