The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-09-12
J. M. ShaughneSSy Shot
in the Forehead.
THE BULLET FLATTENED OUT
TWO BOYS FIRE AT him AND
THEN JUMP ON HIM.
The Young Culprits Are Arrested
Later and Booked on the Charge
of Assault to Commit
Murder.

James NJ Shaughnessy, a school janitor
living at 52112 Lombard street, has to
thank his thick skull for not being on a
slab in the Morgue.
Yesterday afternoon Shaughnessy took
a ride on the cars to the Potrero. While
passing Third and Townsend streets he
saw Tom Caravan, engineer of Engine
3, and his wife, and jumped off to have
a talk with them. Then he boarded an
other car, and hearing shots in the neigh
borhood OF Kentucky and Merrimac
streets he jumped OF to investigate
saw several boys bathing, and 1t occurred
to him that he would take off his shoes
and socks and wade in the water. Just
then two boys about Is years OF age came
We have got you now.
Before Shaughnessy could say or do
and he fell Then they jumped on him
and struck him on the face, cutting his
| lip and ear. He yelled for help and the
beF y nEyI PoIceme s Muffin and McCor
mick were notified that there was a
shooting racket and they hurried to the
scene. They met Shaughnessy with his
tioning him he told them he did not know
the boys and could not recognize them.
| They must have mistaken him for some
! one else, he thought.
| Shaughnessy was sent to the Receiving
| Hospital in the ambulance, and DR.. Prem
! tice found a bullet in his forehead over
! the left eye. He soon extracted 1t and
was surprised to find it had been fiattened
| against the skull. 1t was 80 caliber bull
| let, and as the shot was fired at close
| range the wonder is that the bullet did
not penetrate the skull and cause death.
| The doctors could only account for II by
the thickness of Shaughnessy's skull.
case 9e'V and when he interrogated shaugh-
messy he gave him false name and re-
| peated his story that he had done moth
! ing when the two boys fired the shots at
him The detective did not believe the
! story, and further investigation proved
! that he was right.
Late yesterday afternoon sergeants
Brophy and Conboy arrested two young
men giving their names as John Thomps.
! son and Patrick Kelly on suspicion of
having shot Shaughnessy. They were
locked up in the tanks pending an inve i,.
identified as the asailants. of Shaugh,
messy According to several witnesses of
the shooting Kelly and Ih99 inso Wno
ped out their revolvers and commenced
| shooting over the heads of the bathers,
Shaughnessy, fearing that they would In
! iure somebody, ordered them to cease
Kelly replied that If shaughnessy did
not mind his own business he would
blow his head off" Thompson. at this
| juncture, stepped up to Shaughnessy
and attempted to strike him over the
head with his revolver.
thinking Lnat the uIuiiheH uAiiaho "Oi .
trying to run a bluff" as he expressed
it. Shaughnessy determined to show
them that they could not intimidate him;
| walking up to Thompson he proceeded
! to chastise him, when Kelly aimed his re-
yolyer at his head and fired.
AS he fell wounded to the ground, both
| the men struck him over the head with
their weapons, inflicting several scalp
wounds.
They then repeatedly kicked him and
! had II not been for several citizens who
| interfered they wound have killed him.
Shortly afterward the two men ran
down Kentucky street and made their
Sergeants Conboy and Brophy, assisted
nv a number of police officers, started out
| 10 find them After considerable trouble
| thew located them in a house on Shipley
| street near Fifth. They offered no re-
sistance when told that they were under
| arrest and were at once taken TO the
Receiving Hospital to be identified by
their victim. o.,
tain Spillane and closely questioned.
The prisoners denied that they shot
Shaughnessy, but admitted that they
we're in the vicinity at the time of the
Thompson was still suffering from tn.
| effects Of an overindulgence in liquor, ant
in q boisterous manner he def1ed Cap
tain Spillane to lock him up.
we've got pull" declared Kelly
"vou know better than to throw us II
jail 80, ,+,ar,en" renl,af
Cant e spillane to his two sergeants a,
| thew seized Thompson and Kelly anc
hustled them across the yaro ana lnts
tho Citv Prison.