The Washington bee., 1908-04-04
COWARDLY ASSAULT
HEFFLIN OF ALABAMA


SHOOTS TO KILL.
HeAin, of Alabama, shot and Sc
riously wounded white and a col
ored man last Friday evening, March
p, while on his way to delevire a
temperance lecture in the MetrOpOl-
itan Church.
Two colored men were in an Ave
nue. street car in which this Con-
gresham and his friend were. when
Hehin saw a colored man pull rom
his pocket bottle containing liquor
These men, from the evidence, were
doing nothing. There was no evi-
dence of disorderly conduct whatever
by either man. Becoming very muc =
enraged at the sight of a colored man,
as he (Hehn) stated, drinking whis-
key from bottle in the presence Of
a lady, Hefln elected from the car
the colored man, with whom he had
a scrap, and struck him and at the
same time shot him and seriously
wounded a white man by the name
of Thomas McCreary.
Hefin, after ejecting and striking
the colored man. whose name is Lun-
dy, he (Hefn) returned to the car
and fired several shots through the
window, which has been denounced
as most cowardly.
Heflin claims that he had a per-
NIT from the judges of the Police
Court to carry a gun. Both judges
deny that either ever granted Hef-
lin a permit.
Prosecuting Attorney James l.
Pugh, Jr., stated last Monday that
Hefn did have a permit, and it would
have been better if the judges had
not made that statement
There is not much weight attached
TO the alleged anonymous letter
claimed to have been received By
Hehin.
Details of the Shooting
Although there have been several
versions of the affair, it appears that
Mr.. Hehin, in company with Repre-
sentative Edwin J. Ellerbe, OF South
Carolina, boarded an east-bound I4th
Street car while in front of the Post
Office Building, shortly after 7.3o last
Friday evening. 1t was a two-car
trolley train, and when MeSsrs. Hef-
lin and Ellerbe took seats in the trail
er there were four other passengers
two colored men,a lady and white
man. The colored men appeared to
be intoxicated, and as the car pro-
ceeded they engaged in a discussion
apparently concerning the division of
a quantity of whiskey or gin which
one of them had in a bottle Mr.
Heflin demonstrated with them as to
drinking on the car and in the pres
ence Of a lady and the men, after a
little loud conversation, were appar-
emily satisfied to let the matter drop.
At Sixth street Representative Ell
lerbe, who resides at the Metropol-
itan Hotel left the car Scarcely had
the car started when the two men,
evidently satisfied that they could ov-
ercome any objection, physical or
otherwise, which one white man might
interpose, again produced the bottle
of liquor and started to drink it. They
paid no attention to Mr.. Hehin's re-
monstrance, and then the real trouble
began.
Grabbing the man nearest him, Rep
resentative Hefin, who is large and
powerful, elected him from the car
and followed suit with the second in
dividual. The car was stopped, and
both men returned to the attack. Rep
resentative Heflin says one of them,
anu lC lllllihS II WdS l~ulAOifs lliduC Il
motion as though to draw a weapon,
and to repel the attack he pointed his
revolver out of the car window and
fred twice. Both bullets, he says,
were directed toward the ground, but
at the second shot Lundy screamed,
turned to run, and fell to the street
The first bullet glanced from the
sidewalk and struck Thomas Nc
Creery, who was standing in front
of the St. James Hotel
Policeman Scriyen, who was stand
ing at Sixth street and Pennsylvania
avenue, ran to the car and placed
Mr.. Hefin under arrest. At the same
moment Representative Ellerbe, who
had not rea~led the hotel, ran TO the