The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1908-12-03
John Rasmussen, Aged Is Years,
Shoots and Seriously Wounds
Lillian Christensen
CLAIMS 1T WAS AN ACCIDENT
Bullet Enters Chest Of Little Girl Just
Above the Heart and Fears for
Her Recovery Are Still
Entertained

Lillian Christensen, aged Is years,
the daughter of Mr.. and Mrs. Marius
Christensen who reside on the Van
Ingen farm just south Of the city, was
shot and seriously wounded just before
nine Q o'clock Sunday morning by John
Rasmussen, aged Is years and cousin
Of the injured girl The shooting took
place at the Christensen home and the
two were alone in the house at the
time the shot was fired. The bullet
which was from thirty-tWo calibre
revolver entered the chest Of the
Christensen girl just above the heart
inficting a very dangerous wound and
while she spent a rather comfortable
night at the Kenosha hospital her CON
dition is not such as to cause the physi-
clans to believe that her recovery is
assured and the wound may prove fatal
DR.. P. P. M. Jorgensen who is attending
the injured girl stated last night that
it was miracle that she was not in
stantly killed by the bullet.
The little girl and Rasmussen were
in the house alone when the shooting
took place. Mrs. Christensen and her
other daughter had gone to Chicago for
visit with friends and the father of
the wounded girl was in Kenosha MAX
ing his regular trip as a milk man.
Lillian had been left at home to take
care of the house and the Rasmussen
hNvr h0G To 4hn had
gone into one Of the bed rooms. He
brought the revolver with him and the
girl went to the door Of the bed room
and peeked in. At the time she looked
into the room the revolver was dis
charged and the bullet struck her in the
chest. She fell to the floor with a cry
and the boy seeing what he had done
hurriedly summoned the neighbors to
the house. DR.. Jorgensen was called
and finding the little girl suffering ter
ribly from pain and loss 6of blood he
ordered her removed to the Kenosha
hospital and as soon as possible she
was taken to the hospital in an ambu
lance The doctors did not probe for
that any probing might seriously i'm
pair the chances Of the recovery Of the
little girl and after the location Of the
wound was found she was kept quiet
during the day. The girl suffered ter
ribly during the day, but all efforts to
get her to make a statement i'll regard
to the shooting were futile as she
showed no willingness to talk about it.
The story Of the boy would Indicate
that the shooting was purely acciden,
tai. He stated that he had been trad-
ing cartridges with another boy in the
neighborhood and had gone into the bed
room to place some of these cartridges
into the revolver. He stated that he
had started to replace the revolver in
his pocket when the Christensen girl
looked around the door. The boy
cried as if his heart would break and
he seemed to be greatly affected by the
tradegy.
The boy has reputation for being
careless with fire arms and it is said
that he came near shooting his own
sister little over a year ago. At
that time he pointed revolver at the
sister and pulled the trigger claiming
that the gun was not loaded, but when
the magazine was removed from the re-
volver it was found that the chamber
next to the one that had been snapped
had a cartridge in it.
Today the physicians are carefully
watching any developments in the
wounds of the little girl and they are
hopeful that no serious complications
will set in. 1t is feared however that
the wound may produce pneumonia and
the child is in no. condition TO with
stand a case of that disease.