The Portland daily press., 1900-11-30
Herman SOlOway, Age Eight Years,
Fired the Shot.
Lavinsky's Wound May
Prove Fatal.
The Shooting Was the Result of
An Accident.

Considerable excitement was caused on
Front street, south Portland, yesterday,
about II. 80 clock in the morning by
the accidental shooting Of Morris LAWN
sky, a Toy about IA years old, whose
home is on Hampshire street, In Port
land. He was one Of a party OF nve boys
ranging In ages from 8 to is, the others
being Walter Fleming, Solomon Sole
way, Herman Soioway, Samuel Soloway,
all living In Portland. 1t appears that
the boys hired two guns, one OF which
was 50 rim fire Hopkins 81 Allen make,
the other central fire gun, and conclud-
ed to pass Thanksgiving morning by en-
gaging In a sort OF target practice on the
Cape shore. Supplied with generous
amount Of ball cartridges they boarded
the ferry boat Elizabeth City about o
O'Clock, and the two youngest boys.
and years old, were given the privilege
OF carrying tina guns. A gentleman
who saw them said afterwards to a re-
porter of the PRESS that he wondered at
the time how such youngsters got hold
Of such dangerous weapons.
Reaching the woods near the Willard
school house the three oldest boys, FIem-
ing Lavinslxy and Solomon Soloway set
up a target In the shape OF cartridge
box, and statloning themselves at an
agreed distance engaged in test OF
workmanship which they kept up for
some time until they thought 10 was
about time to turn their faces homeward
The party left the woods about II
O'Clock and to repay Herman Soloway
who was the eight-year-old boy, for thu
privilege he had given them OF Kidding
his hat with bullets. he was allowed TO
carry the Hopkins s. Allen gun and was
furnished with what was thought to be
a dozen or more Of empty cartridge shells.
just rs the boys reached the corner of
Front and Pickett streets some one called
out TO Lavinsky, who was walking In
front with Fleming. Both boys turned
round and Fleming noticing that Her
man Soloway, about ID yards in the rear,
was working away at the gun, called out
to him, '.Shut that block" In an in
slant the gun went of and the ball en-
tered the right side Of Lavinsky, just
below the lung and he fell TO the wood
en- walk, The boys rushed to a neigh
boring house and a woman hurried to
their assistance About this time car
on the Portland and Cape Elizabeth
railroad was passing and two men lifted
the boy to the car, and on reaching VIII
sons drug store on the corner or Front
and Dyer streets, he was carried inside
DIR Kincaid was called and Rich's ambu
lancs from Portland was at once sum-
moned. The boy was taken to the Maine
General hospital and on examination by
the attending surgeon 1T was found that
the ball entered the right side just be-
low the lung bstween the ribs and pass
ing around came out OF the back, infiict-
ing very ugly wound which might
prove to be most serious.
AT last accounts the boy was resting
as comfortably as could have been ex-
pected. Laytnsky has q mother and sew
eral young brothers and sisters to whose
support he has most commercially as
sisted. The affair was purely accidental
one and no one seems to feel worse about
1t than young Herman Soloway, who
without realizing 1t, In some way got
hold of the ball cartridge which inflicted
the wound.