The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-09-18
KILLED BY A LOVER
HAGER ROBINSON, COLoRED, SHOT
no DEATH.
MURDERER FIRED ON POLICE.
SHERMAN RICHARDS ARRESTED
AFTER BEING SHOT.

PafroImnn without Enect-ShOot-
ing Occurred at Liberty street
Lane, Near East Broad Street-MHr-
derer Arrested on CASTOR and Alb
ercorn streets-His Last shots
Were Fired There in the Faces Of
PatroIman Clancy and Mccarthy.
oalcer Jernigan Inflicted the
Wound in the First DueI-kiIIIng
seems to Have Been Unprovoked.
Hager Robinson, a colored woman,
was shot and killed shortly after 10
o'clock last night in house in Liberty
street lane, near East Broad street, by
a negro named Sherman Richards. The
murderer was arrested on Hall and
Abercorn streets after being shot in
the right arm. He had emptied his a.
calibre revolver at the officers who per-
sued him, but his aim had been wild.
Richards effort to shoot down the
patrolmen who were chasing him was
desperate one, and bullets flew thick
and fast for several minutes. Superin-
tendent Reilly, Patrolman Mccarthy,
Patrolman Clancy, Patrolman ferni-
gan and Plant System officer Lovett
emptied their revolvers at the muir
derer before he vas captured.
The only eye witness to the homicide
was a negro named John Taylor, who
made his escape in the excitement that
followed the killing. Negroes residing
in the lane say that Richards and
Taylor are both employed on the road,
and have been pals. 1t is claimed that
the shooting was done with Taylor's
revolver.
The Robinson woman had been in an
adjoining house talking to Matte Hill
and left only few minutes before she
was killed. She had just got next door
when the Hill woman heard Richards
call her upstairs. The woman says
that Hager had only been upstairs
minute or two when she heard a door
slam. and directly afterwards a shot
was fired. The wounded woman ran
downstairs and into the Hin womans
house before she fell dead. The bullet
had entered her right breast. and made
an ugly-looking hole The fingers of
both hands were badly lacerated, and
the theory is that she threw her hands
10 her breast just as the weapon was
fired.
Hattie Givins, a negro who lives on
the West Side, was in an adjoining
room when the shooting occurred. She
says that she heard Hager enter the
room and heard Richards say, IF you
want some other man, just tell me So"
The Givins woman says that Richards
struck Hager several times and that
she could hear the blows as they fell
II was only a minute afterwards that
the shot was fired. and Richards rush.
ed out CT the room with the smoking
weapon in his hand. Taylor was in
the room at that time, according to the
Givins woman. and made his escape,
too.
Patroimsn Jernigan was on Liberty
and East Broad streets when the shot
was fired and he ran into Liberty
street lane Richards had jumped a
fence in the rear of the house and
crawled under a house opening on Har-
ris street. Jernigan was searching
for the man in the darkness, and car
ried a lamp in his hand. He stopped
10 look under the Harris house, when
a bullet went whistling by him. Jer-
nigan began using his revolver, and
another shot came from under the
house. The officer fired four times and
believing that he had killed his man,
went into the street to notify police
headquarters.
A minute later Richards crawled
from under the house and started on
a run that stopped with his arrest on
Hall and Abercorn streets The shoot
ing had by this time attracted the at
tention of other officers who joined in
the chase. AS the negro ran through
the streets the patrolmen worked their
revolvers. and over a score of shots
were fired. The officers believed that
they had silenced the fire of the negro,
when he came to standstill on Hall
street.
0afrare CLANCY oud McCarfbv ran
forward, and when within five feet of
Richards, were almost blinded by two
shots from the revolver of large call
Der. The. escape of the men was mar
row. and the fact that the negro had
been wounded in the right arm by Pa
trolman Jernigan. probably accounts
for the inaccuracy of his aim. Rich
ards pistol was empty when taken
hold by the officers, but he attempted
to get away, and was struck across
the head by officer Mccarthy. The
patroiman's pistol had been emptied,
or Richards would probably have been
killed. He received a severe cut in
the head before he surrendered.
At the police station house Richards
claimed that the pistol had belonged
to the Robinson woman, and that he
took Ii from her when she attempted
TO shoot him. He says that he was ly-
ing across the bed with the weapon,
when the woman started for him with
a razor. He says that he fired one shot
then, but denied that he shot after
wards, or attempted to kill the OFF,
GERS
Coroner Keller was notified of the
homicide and made an investigation.
From the bloodstains traced from the
room in which the killing occurred to
the adjoining house, the woman was
sitting in a rocking chair when shot
down. The chair was covered with
blood, and a perfect stream of the
Z crimson f1uied ran downstairs and into
the next house. The theory of the po-
lice is that the woman was sitting
down when Richards first struck her,
and that he was standing over her
when he fired the fatal shot. He was
probably prompted by motives of jeal-
ousy. either real or imaginary. An in
quest will be held this evening to de
ternine the grade of homicide of which
Richards is guilty.
xntunW- NAnnIVgn