The age-herald., 1898-07-09
X. J. BLACK SHOT BY MRS. C. 4. LARGE Yesterday Afternoon at Cain Station,
 AVOndalo. HAD OF TEN lNSULTED HER She Says, and Has Trying to Enter Her
 Home FOFGlbly. SHE SHOT THROUGH A CLOSED DOOR Black Too Weak to Make Any Statement, but His Wife Says She Had Always Sup
 posed the Families to Be
 on Good Terms.
SHE SHOT THROUGH CLOSED DOOR

Avondale was thrown into a state of wild excitement yesterday afternoon by a shoot- ing scrape, which may prove fatal.
 The principals in the affair were man and woman, and the man came out second best
 It was about 4:3O o'clock that the usually quiet and serene around Cain station was broken by the mufiied sound of a pistol shot, the result of which is that A. J. Black is now lying at the point of death. The undisputed evidence is that the plstol which fired the deadly shot was in the hands of Mrs. c. G. Larch
 An Age-Herafd reporter was on the scene soon after the shooting and obtained, as nearly as possible, the following as facts in The case:
 Story of. the Shooting
 A. J. Black and c. G. Larch are next-door neighbors, only narrow alley separating their homes at Cain station, on the line of the Birmingham Railway and Electric com- pany. About 1 o'clock MT. Black left his house through the side gate and crossed the alley into the back yard of MT. Larch. He had his little child with him. He went to the residence and attempted an entrance. This is a double door-the first mere screen and the second a light pine door. Black pulled open the screen door, when Mrs. Larch, who was in the dining room, warned him not to erter.
 Black protested, and said he was going to come in if he had Ito get an axe and break the door in. He was again warned not Ho enter, and still insisting, Mrs. Larch shot through the door with 3S-calibre pis- tol, and though she could not see Black the aim was accurate and the ball entered his left breast.
 The little child which was with him ran out the gate and Black followed, but fell as he reached the gate, ten steps from where he was shot,
 Drs. J. P. Hawkins and Wyatt Hefiin were immediately summoned and MT. Black was removed to his room in a very weak condition. He was unable to make stalte- ment of the case to the reporter
 An examination of the door through which the ball was fired shows that Black must have been standing on about the third from top step when struck.
 So far as is known there were no eye witnesses to the tragedy Mrs. Black, wife of the wounded man, was in her room at the time of the shooting, and stated the first she heard of the affair were the words from Black: "Ain't you going to let me in?" and these words were followed by the pistol shot. She said she knew of no cause for the shooting as the families had always been on very friendly terms, and Mir. Black frequently went over to the Larch home to visit them. 'I had no idea they had grudge against us,'' she said as she hurried after some hot water to be used in the probing by Dr. Hefin.
 Mrs. Larch Arrested
 Mrs. Larch was immediately placed under arrest by Deputy Sheriff w. T. Crawford, who was on the scene soon after the shoot ing occurred and she was brought to town.
 When seen at the sheriffs office, she at first refused to talk, but finally authorized the following statement:
 You can say for me that shot Black simply in self defense. He has been to my house a number of times before and in- suited me and I have repeatedly warned him away. When he came this afternoon l was locked up in my house, and when l ordered him away he refused to go and said he would break the door down with an ax if I didn't let him in, and said: I'll kill you when I get in.' l then got pistol I fired through the door simply to scare him off, and with no intention of hurting him as I did
 The warrant for her arrest was sworn out before Justice Benners and her pre- liminary trial fixed for June II at 10 a. m. She was granted bail.
 Mrs. Larch is the wife of c. G. Larch, yard foreman of the Southern. Black, the injured man, also works in the Southern shops. Mrs. Larch has been twice mar ried and has son II years old. She is apparently little over 30 years of age, and was well dressed yesterday afternoon, and is very attractive looking woman. She was not agitated in the least. She told her story in a straightforward man. ner and seemed very anxious to have the facts of the case correctly published.
 The story was heard yesterday that be- fore her second marriage Black had shown Mrs. Larch a great deal of attention, and her statements seem to show that he has continued his attentions after both of them had married
 Crawfords Story
 q was coming in to town from East Lake," said Deputy Sheriff Crawford, 'when I saw an excited crowd of people flocking to a house situated at Cain Sta tion on the car line. I went .there imme- diately and found that Black had been shot by Mrs. Larch, very much as has been told. Black had been removed to his home next door, and there I heard Mrs. Black, in her first paroxysm of grief, cry ing, oh, John, don't die! Why did you go over there? I told you to keep away
 ''Iater on when MT. Larch arrived and heard of the tragedy he remarked to his wife, So you killed the d-n did you? I knew it was coming sooner or later'
 s.I don't pretend to draw any conclu- sions. am simply stating what I saw md the scene of action