The semi-weekly messenger., 1901-05-24
SHOT TO DEATH.
DELIBERATE MURDER LAST NIGHT IN
BLOOD BLOCK" ALLEY
Two Negroes Fell Out Over a Game OF
Cards-Jfm Hawkins Fired Three
Bullets Into John Brown-The Muir.
derer Escaped-Inquest to be Held
This Morning.

From north Fourth street to Fifth
street between Brunswick and Rladep
streets runs a narrow lane known as
Golfers alley but it is very correctly
called by the negroes Blood Block" all
ley. They so call it from the fact that
several tragedies have occurred in that
disreputa.ble quarter and because il is
| near the corner where the riot broke
| out on the memorable 10th Of Novem-
| Der 1898.
In Blood Block alley last night about
O'Clock or few minutes thereafter a.
deliberate murder was committed by
| Jim Hawkins. a negro. who fired three
bullets from a revolver into the body of
John Brown, also colored. The tragedy
occurred in house occupied by two ne
| gro women, Laura Lenox and Maggie
Bland, and it is only few steps from
| Fourth street. Two policemen on their
beat had passed the alley only two or
three minutes when they heard three
or four pistol shots in rapid succession.
They ran back 10 the alley and found
a number OF negroes coming from the
| alley or gathering to see what the
trouble was. In the yard back of the
house they found John Brown lying on
the ground UNCONSCIOUS from three
wounds, but the murderer had fled. At
| ter doing the deed he ran out of the
back door and jumped over the fence
and went out Rladen street, going to-
| wards the woods, probably by Smiths
creek bridge.
The officers telephoned for the city
ambulance to Chief Furlong and he and
| Sergeant G. w. Woolard hurried to
the scene with the ho
| chief tried to talk to Brown but he was
| unconscious and could not be aroused,
| so no statement was gotten from him.
Brown was put into the ambulance and
while the chief staid on the ground to
begin a search for the murderer, Sar-
| geant Woolard drove the ambulance to
| the city hospital. When he got there
| Brown was dead, having expired on
| the way.
DR.. c. D. Bell, the coroner, was also
| notified when Brown was shot but when
| he reached the house where the shoot
| ing occurred the ambulance had gone to
| the hospital. He then went there and
examined the dead body. He found
| that one bullet passed directly through
| the Adams apple" Just under the
| chin, another went through the right
| side of the neck, Sever1ng the juglar
vein. and a third bullet went into the
| left breast near the shoulder. He will
| hold an inquest over the remains this
| morning.
AS soon as Chief Furlong reached the
| scene OF the tragedy he set about to
| capture the murderer and to get wit
| nesses Of the tragedy. Everybody about
| the house denied having any know
| ledge of the affair. He arrested the two
| women and had them locked up at the
station house. Later he arrested ne
| gro called "Crippled Dick leader of
Cripple Dicks Band,'' who it was be-
lieved was a witness as he was in the
| alley when the shooting occurred. At
ter the murder Cripple Dick went to
the dance hall at Ninth and Bladen
streets and was playing for a negro
ball when he was arrested. At the
| ball also, a young negro man named
Robert Smith, aged q years, was taken
| into custody. He proved to be an i'm
portant witness. as he was in the room
| where the shooting occurred.
Last night he unreservedly told
| Messenger representative all that he
| said he knew about the affair. He
states that the room in which the
shooting occurred was occupied by Jim
| Hawkins and that John Brown had
gone there to play cards. A few min
utes to 8 o'clock, Robert Smith states
| that he and William Bennett another
young colored man, went to Hawkins
room and found him and Brown gamb-
| ling with deck of cards. They had
| money on the table and Smith and
Bennett sat on a bed near the table
| looking on. He states that he was not
| noticing particularly but surmises that
Brown must have won Hawkins
! money, as Hawkins jumped up excit-
| edly, threw his hand on pistol in his
| hip pocket and ordered Brown to empty
| his pockets on the table. He cursed
| and demanded that Brown put every
| cent he had on the table. He also or
dered Smith and Bennett to shell out
| all the money they had. Smith says
| Brown jumped up when Hawkins
threatened him and he thinks he
clined to empty his pockets. He
states that he and Bennett were
| frightened and started for the door, but
Hawkins backed up against the door
| with his hand still clutching his pistol
| on his hip. Brown in the meantime,
walked around the table towards the
| door where Hawkins was. Hawkins
advanced a few feet. drew his pistol
| and fired at Brown. Bennett got to
| the door behind Hawkins and made
his escape. but Smith says before he
| could get out Hawkins fired two shots.
| He says Brown had no weapon and was
not threatening Hawkins. who is the
| larger man of the two.
Brown is a black negro about 26 or
| % years of age. and claims Charlotte
| as his nome. He formerly ran as
| train hand on the Carolina Central
| railroad. Hawkins came here two or
| three years ago and clans that
| he was from Virginia, although
| it is said that he lived in Wei
| don before coming here. He is
a ginger cake color and had on
stripped shirt. a greyish hat with
small band, and probably wore blue
straight-cut sack coat. He and Brown
have both been working the past two
| weeks with the gang of hands relaying
| the track Of the Wilmington Street
| railway on Front street. Neither of
| them are married