The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-05-30
BULLET At HEART
Rifle Ball Knocks Down
Miss Dement,.
Came From Direction Of Slate Prison
Last Night. Passes Through Six
Inches of Wall and Stuns
Miss EIorence Dement,.
Miss Florence Dement,.

The ripping and tearing of a rifle
bullet through wall, the fall and
scream of a young woman, and it
seemed as if death had come.
This was last night shortly after
eleven o'clock when Miss Florence De-
ment was struck full above the heart
by what appears to be ball from
Winchester rifle. She was in her room
getting ready to retire when death
brushed close to her.
Miss Dement, resides with her moth
err. Mrs. l.. F. Dement,, at $40 South
Salisbury street, few doors south Of
Cabarrus. She occupies, with her Sis
ter. Miss Frances Dement,, room at
the back of the house, the exposure
to the west, and about eleven o'clock
the two young ladies were in the room
preparatory TO retiring.
Miss Frances was seated near the
foot of the bed. STOPPING over to unite
her shoes. Her sister Miss Florence,
was standing near her, facing to the
west, just behind the corner of the
bureau, which stands against north
wall of the room. Her hands were
up at her head as she was taking hair
pins from her hair. Here is how She
describes what happened.
81 felt as if an immense brick had
struck me above the heart and then
1 tumbled to the floor my knees Civ
ing way. The feeling was as If only
my head was left as the rest of my
body was numb. / cried out: i m
killed, I'm dying and then Frances,
who was on the floor scrept over to
me and said Are you really. dying?'
Mrs. Dement, ran out to the front
piazza and called for help, but none
came Miss Frances hurried to- the
telephone and after frantic ringing
reached the police station, officer
Austin going to the house, and later
Messrs. McRary and Bell
The terror at the house was that
some one was shooting into the room.
The window which is about fourteen
feet above the ground was open, but
an examination of the room soon re-
vealed "a Winchester rifle A calibre
bullet on the floor. 1t had come
through the wall, struck Miss Dement,
and then bounded back near the wall.
The ball entered the room about
nine feet above the floor and foot
to the north of the window, and was
descending at an angle of about 10
degrees when it entered the room. On
the outside of the building in the
weather boarding is a clean cut hole,
as if made by an auger. Within the
room there is a piece of plaster about
the size of the palm of hand torn off
the ball having gone through the
weather boarding, the edge of a lath
the plastering and eight feet into the
room before it struck Miss Dement,.
The young lady had on her walking
suit, white sailor waist, and just
above her heart there is on her dress
the black mark made by the rifle
ball, which was nearly spent when it
reached her. as her flesh is only
bruised. Just little more momentum
and the ball would have, gone to her
heart.
The ball is about an inch long,
rounded at the end, and is a little
marked from its passage through the
wall. The angle at which it entered
the room shows that it came either
from high point west of Raleigh and
descended, or that it was shot high and
as it curved down it entered the wall.
The Winchester rifle will carry a mile
or more and a Mauser even a greater
distance. AS the ball came from the
direction of the State prison, three
quarters to mile away it was
thought that it might have been fired
by guard. but inquiry there brought
the reply that no gun had been shot
there at night, but that the sound of
firing had been heard to the west OF
the prison. The ball evidently came a
great distance and no sound Of shot
was heard by either of the young
ladies.
Miss Florence Dement, was of course
very much unnerved and DR.. James
r. Rogers was summoned. He found
only a slight bruise and prescribed a
remedy to quiet the young lady's nerves
as she is not injured though her es-
cape from death is only by a hairs
breadth. The police are seeking to
find out parties who may have been
using a military rifle west of Raleigh
last night, but no clue has yet been
found.