The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-11-01
IT MAY END IN MURDER
MORRIS SHREDDER, A NEGRO, SHOT IN
A FALL CREEK Howell.
Florida Phillips and Henry Thompson
Arrested in Connection
with the Affair.

A mysterious crime, which last night gave
promise of being a murder, was committed
at 10 o'clock Sunday night in a negroes
hovel on the Fall creek bottoms, in the
northeast part of the city. The place is
dignitied by the name of "1103 Glenn ave-
nue." Morris Stroder, a colored man thirty
years old, was shot in the back and lay In
the house unattended by a physician until
shortly after noon yesterday. Yesterday
morning the other negroes in the place,
fearing that Stroder was about to die, noti-
fed the City Dispensary, and asked that
physician be sent to the place to look after
a man who had been accidentally shot.
After dinner DR.. Flora MacIvor started for
the house. On the way she met Detective
Asch, and he accompanied her. When they
arrived they found the wounded man lying
on a bed grooming miserably, and the other
negroes clustered about him. The physician
after examining Stroder ordered that he be
sent to the City Hospital. Detective Asch,
seeming a crime, set to work to learn the
true story of the way in which SHREDDER was
shot Stroder himself asserted earnestly
that he had shot himself accidentally. sun
day afternoon he told the detective, he was
hunting in the woods three miles north OF
the poor farm with another .colored, man,
Henry Thompson, who lived In tne mouse.
He climbed a tree and in descending re-
volver in his pocket caught on limp ana
was discharged the bullet piercing his BODY.
Thompson, he said, had carried him to the
house. He told the story so lameiy that the
detective could not believe him. When he
was taken to the City Hospital he told an
other story, to the effect that q woman sit
ting in another room had accidentally shot
him.
Chief Colbert sent Detectives Thornton
and Kinney out to the hospital to question
Stroder further. When they were through
with him they went to the house at llO3
Glenn avenue and arrested Henry thompson
and Florida Phillips. The woman, when put
in the Sweat box confessed that she had
shot Stroder. She said she had quarreied
with Thompson over some money matters
and fired at him. The bullet, she said,
missed Thompson and struck Stroder After
she told this story to the detectives she
was taken up stairs and locked up on
charge of assault and battery with intent
and Stroder and the woman were talking.
Suddenly he heard the discharge OF a re-
volver and SHREDDER exclaimed, Il m shot!
Thompson is slated at the police station on
the same charge as the woman: ,.4,.
Three different versions of the shooting
are given above and there is still another.
The woman was at one time married, put
her husband left her. She lives at llOS
also has been living there. Stroder has been
visiting the house, and there is room Tor
a supposition that jealous quarrel arose
between Stroder and Thompson, wnlch led
Thompson or the woman was not deter
mined last night.
Stroder is a laborer and unmarried. He
had been living with his mother at SO west
Seventeenth street. Early last night perl
tonitis developed from his wound, and the
physicians were unable to determine Wheth-
er Stroder would live days or hours He
chung to his story that he had accidentally