The sun., 1906-12-31
ARMED TOUGH ON A RAMPAGE
SHOOTS PAL, HOLDS UP CAR AND
TRIES TO KILL A cor.
A Human Terror In the streets Until Two
Policemen Beat Him Into snariing
wreck -Scatters Crowd ef ChurchgO 20 ers
I'm His savage Rush for Freedom.


In His savage Rush Tor Freedom.
Gorilla Tom Cooney was q credit to the
Razor Alley gang yesterday. He shot his
own pal, attempted to kill a policeman,
held up a trolley car, threw bullets around
the ears Of the motorman and conductor
and ran wild through the streets, terrorlz-
ing churchgoers and other pedestrians.
The Gorilla left his home at 304 West
Thirty-seventh street yesterday morning
with his wife pulling at his coattails, crying:
Come on back, Tom, and be a good fell
Ier," she said. ~You don't want to make
trouble on Sunday, do your
Go to hell" said the Gorilla savagely.
"G'wan back to the kitchen and tend to
your own business. / got job to do. I'm
goin' to trim Coyne within an inch OF his
hfe.'
Cooney swaggered over to Twenty
seventh street and Seventh avenue, to the
Tiger, a ginmin that is patronized largely
by the Razor Alley gang He went in at the
side door and saw Bill Coyne, one OF the
strong arm men Of the Razor Alley outfit,
sitting at a table in the little back room
with it's sawdust floor and beerstained
tables. Coyne was drinking beer with two
or three husky grafters who kept wary
eye on the side door in case plain clothes
man should drop in without sending his
card ahead.
-Ima-goin' to kill you, Bill, said Cooney.
pulling his pistol. IF you know a prayer
spit it out. You won't get another chance
Ina moment Of ofthoughtlessnessB Bill Coyne
had left his gun at home and he begged for
mercy. The Gorilla deliberately shot at
him, but the bullet went low and went into
Coynes right leg. Coyne dropped, rolled
over and played dead. He knew TO a GER
tainty that II he moved agdin Co0ney wonid
finish what he had begun. The Gorilla
looked at him with a grin for a moment:
| Then. seeing people running from up and
down Seventh avenue, he took to his heels,
| sprinting through Twenty-seventh street to
Eighth avenue.
Policeman John O'Dea, a young, clean
cut cop with first rate record on the force.
heard the shot fired when he was in Eighth
avenue, between Thirtieth and twenty
| ninth streets. He ran down Eighth avenue
| and sighted I he Gorilla as the half crazy
| man got to the corner. A northbound
| Eighth avenue car slowed up at the corner
| lust "a Cooney bounded out into the avenue.
| The cond ductor was about to give the go
ahead bell when he saw the Gorilla re-
| yolver pointed at him, and he dropped his
| hand from the cord without unnecessary
| loss of time. Half the passengers in the
car saw Coouey and the holding up OF the
| car and they went to their feet, the men as
! frightened as the women.
Coonev hopped aboard the car and laid
the muzzle OF the revolver on the conduc-
aNow start her up" he said. -and if you
don't send her along hell bent for election
| I'll blow your damned head ONT
The conductor yanked the cord hard,
twice, and the car started with a jerk.
ODea, seeing he couldn't get aboard, /,
wheeled around, his revolver in his hand
and ran up Eighth avenue, blowing his
whistle for help.
Faster, damn you faster!" the Gorilla
shouted at the motorman, David Shaw.
Il got all the power on said the motor
man, nervously.
"You re a liarl" said Cooney and fired a
shot past the conductors ear. The bullet
whizzed Just over the motorman's ahead.
Shaw, unnerved and scared half TO death,
tried 20 squeeze a little more power out
OF the controller box, but his fingers went
twistyways and he shut of the power and
threw on the brake. As the car lost head
way Cooney cursed the motorman and sent
another bullet within an inch of his head.
AS the car stopped just south OF Thrtieth
| street Cooney leaped of, lodged O'Dea,
who was out of breath from hard sprint,
and ran east through Thirtieth street.
just as he started into Thirtieth street the
Gorilla stopped for a moment to fire three
shots at 0'Dea. emptying his revolver
The bullets went wild and COoney ran on
breaking his gun and filling the empty
chambers with loose cartridges from his
| pocket.
The congregation of the Church Of st
John the Baptist at 200 West Thirtieth street
was pouring out of the church doors ano
there was a good sized crowd on the side
walk when Cooney burst into il. yelling like
a madman. The company on the sidewalk
scattered in a hurry, women screaming
and men remembering something they had
left behind in the church.
Two Of the crowd stood their ground
Frank Flanagan of 4S2 West Twenty -seventi
street and John Costello Of 212 West Thirty
second street. They sized Cooney up as q
madman and closed in on him as he ripped
through the crowd Cooney smashed Flan
agan on the head with the butt of his gun
knocking him down, and as Costello grabbed
at him Cooney hit him a crashing blow IL
the jaw with his fist. Costello dropped, hal
senseess.
That gave time for the breathless O'DeG
to get near, but Cooney saw him cominl
and fired at close range. The bullet wen
I through O'Dea's coat sleeve, singeing hi
, arm, but he kept straight on. Coone,
lodged through the crowd. threatening viii
his pistol, and made for a bakers wag oI
which a fat German boy was driving
The bakers boy thought Cooney was goinI
to leap aboard and he yelled and hit hi
l | horse a whack with the whip. The hors
woke up and ran away. II carried th'
scared fat boy to Thirty-eighth street an
! Seventh avenue before some men got
stopped.
0'Dea nabbed the Gorilla in front Of rs
West Thirtieth street and brought him dow
|. with a blow from the butt end of his gun
, The tough went down, but was up agai
a like a cat, clutching for the policeman
> ! neck.
4 Nobody interfered to help q Dea and tn
: policeman rapidly got the worst Of il. Bot
' men were bloody and tired when Detectiv
. Sullivan of the West Thirty-seventh stree
station came running up. He got there !
the nick of time, because O'Dea was abou
all in. The Gorilla had kicked him in tn
stomach and he was holding on to the Graz
, tough by sheer nerve more than snythin
, | else.
They called patrol wagon and carrie
Cooney first 10 the West Thirty-sevent
street station.
. There wasn't much left OF Cooney whe
|. the sergeant took his pedigree. but he ha
, | nerve enough left 10 curse O'Dea and Sull
van shaking his fist at them and sayinl
Il "Ill get hunk with you yet" A minute q
two later he inquired, with a touch of re
, | sentiment:
. Amt youse goin' to take my picture?"
They sent the battered up Gorilla b
Roosevelt Hospital, where he will probabl
n remain for some days. Coyne, whose HON
| - NJ AaS Weaf Sixteanth atraet was sent I