The San Francisco call., 1906-09-01
Angry Guard
Fires Into
Crowd.
Sends Bullet Through the
Hat Of Bystander
at Car Barns.

I cJ iApd liil1 Su with Ane Slrlk1nE carmen,
John L. Normao Of Chicago. a youthful
guard at the United Railroads barns at
Turk and Fillmore streets. at 2:4o
o'clock yesterday afternoon drew a re-
volver and shot at his tormenters. the
bullet passing through the hat OF Leon
Paris, who had happened innocently to
pause before the Turk street entrance
to the company's stockade. Some small
fraction OF an inch intervened between
Paris and death. Paris lives at 243
Eureka street He straightway secured
a warrant for the arrest of the guard
and Detective T. j. Bailey took Normac
into custody and led him to Jail, fol-
lowed by hooting crowd OF boys and
men.
Normac was booked at the City Hall
station on a charge Of assault with at
tempt to commit murder and was later
locked up at the O'Farrell-street sta
ton.
According to credible eyewitnesses of
the shooting. Normac, the guard, was
protecting the company's property
from no more serious assaults than
could be made by lads in their early
teens or younger four-horse truck
loaded with bedding and packing cases
had driven into the yard and the boys
and some men gathered about to peek
through the forbidden gate and espy
yard of mystery. When the gate was
closed the lads ventured to utilize
cracks in the fence to look into the
fascinating reservation.
Normac, according to witnesses.
made his first gun play from the top
of the fence. He climbed on the wall,
and. fourishing his revolver, ordered
the boys away. The mandate OF the
youthful sentry did not avail and the
bows continued to rattle ON the gate
and utilize the peekholes. At this time
Paris passed and stopped to watch the
scene.
RAIIEY MAKES ARREST.
Then the gate opened and Normac
anneared at the aperture, his revolver
stiu in his hand He fired. holding his
revolver slightly tilted upward. Tne
bullet went through Paris hat shgntly
above the band, missing the Skull ny
the closest margin. Shortly before lne
shot was fired a strike sympathlzer,
seeing Normac at the gate, applied
series of vile epithets to the young
man, who had replied In kind
At the sound of the shot the strikers
and others who were gathered at the
corner of Turk and Fillmore streets,
half a block away, rushed to the scene
of the shooting. Normac had quickly
disappeared behind the closed gate and
against the guards, but attempted no
violence.
Trucks continue to drive into the
yard and when the gate would De
opened for their entrance Normac could
be plainly seen, his revolver now LAID
aside, but huge policeman's club dan
gled from a strap at his wrist. A pair
of policemen loitered about and pre-
served semblance of order.
police headquarters for warrant and
at about o'clock Detective Bailey
came to arrest Normac. crowd still
hung about the gates when Bailey,
policeman and an official of the COM
pany entered the enclosure. The crowd
wanted to see the arrest and rushed
wildly from the Turk-street to the
Fillmore street entrance of the yard
and back again, SO that they might not
miss the egress of the prisoner But
Bailey found an unmatched alleyway
and slipped his man out on to Webster
street and to Golden Gate avenue be-
fore the watchers were aware of the
move.
THREATS FROM CROWD.
There was a rush for the patrolman
and the man and hooting mob of sew
eral hundred followed down Golden
Gate avenue. Normac walked along
with Bailey, betraying no particular
uneasiness, stolidly smoking pipe and
replying civilly to questions put en-
route by reporters.
From the crowd came cries of lynch
him." which advice no one made the
slightest effort to follow. Not even
a stone was thrown, but the mob sim
ulated violence with ctrrect vocabu-'
larry.
Above the noise of the mob. Normac
stolid1y, in reply to questioning, stated
that his name was John L. Normac,
and that he had come to San Francisco
from Chicago two weeks ago. He
and Bailey appeared unconscious OF
his following which was noisy enough
to bring heads to every window on
Golden Gate avenue and attract the
attention of half the refugees in JEFF
ferson square
j. Owen, who lives on Mission street.
and j. Corsiglia, of Oakland. neither
carmen. witnessed the shooting by
Normac and agreed with the other wit
nesses that the only ones causing the
trouble at the barn were boys. Says
Corsiglia concerning the affair:
"a load of blankets had been taken
into the yard and this young fellow
who did the shooting. Normac, opened
the gate and stood In the entrance.
Some man passing by went up 10 him
and, applying vile name. threatened
him. Normac than closed the gate
and later got UP on the. fence and
ordered the boys away. showing his
pistol. But the boys hung around the
gate. knocking on it and beating
against 1t. Paris. the man VIII was
shot at, came along and, after he had
passed the gate. stopped to see what
was doing. Then thiss guard opened
the gate again and took his pistol and
shot He was holding his gun at
small upward angle. so far as I could
see and the bullet went through the
mans hat"
owens story and that of others
agreed with Corsiglia's version of the
shooting. Some of the bystanders
said. however, that Normac had aimed
at the ground and the bullet glanced
from the pavement into the air.
STRIKE Is OFF.
Twenty per Cent Has Been Struck on