The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-12-20
OFFICER O'BRYANT
 IS SHOT BY NEGRO Fatally Shoots His AssaiIant After Receiving Wound FIRED UPON BY THREE MEN Negroes Were Shooting and Creating Disturbance on Avenue B, Where
 the Policeman Had Gone
 to Quiet Them.
FIRED UPON BY THREE MEN

After having been brutally shot down, Policeman M. M. OBryant yesterday aft ernoon fought out pistol duel with three negroes and is at the point of death, while one of the negroes was also fatal ly wounded.
 Officer O Bryant is at St. yincents hos pital, and the report of his condition at a late hour was that he had rallied slightly but it was thought he could not last through the night. He was shot completely through the body, 45 calibre bullet entering the front of the abdomen and penetrating the stomach, liver and intestines, then passing through the back and lodging in the waistband of his trousers. His leg was also slightly grazed by another bullet, this one having been fired at such close range that the flame from the shot set fire to his trousers One negro, Ed Reese, alias "Skeeter" received a similar wound and Is expected to die.
 The shooting happened about 3:15 o'clock yesterday afternoon on Avenue B. between Twenty-first and Iwenty-second streets. Officer O'Bryant's beat was on Twentieth street and about this time he heard pistol shot. He stepped to the corner of Twentieth street and Avenue B and inquired of a man coming down Avenue B as to the trouble, and was told that negroes in the next block were cye- ating disturbance.
 He rushed to the scene and negro man was pointed out to him as the one. He ct 41 +I.t l.. so the negro suddenly pulled a gun from his pocket and shot at him the bullet passing through O'Bryant's body. De- spite his mortal wound OBryant tussled with the negro and finally got his gun out and shot the negro in the abdomen. Two other negroes were shooting at him In the meantime and O'Bryant, who had fallen to the ground, pluckily returned their fire. After emptying their guns the negroes disappeared, but all three were captured shortly afterwards.
 A report of the shooting was phoned police headquarters immediately. It happened that Chief Bodeker, Chief of Detectives Jack Mcdonald and Capt Martin Eagan and a number of detectives
 
 Chief Bodeker. Mcdonald and Eagan has, tened to the street, jumped into taxi cab and were on the scene of the shoot ing in less than five minutes after it had occurred. The detectives and plain clothesmen also rushed to the scene and 10 minutes after the shooting over a 1 dozen men were searching every negro house in the neighborhood. The wound ed negro and another one were found within block, while the third was cap tured in two blocks of the scene The wounded negro was not taken be- fore O'Bryant, but the other two were taken to the hospital and identified by him just before he was placed upon the operating table They were Will Lockett and J. H. Johnson, alias Timber Jim D Ambulances of Shaw & Soi and New bourne & Spain removed the wounded men to the hospital.
 The rapidity with which Chief Bode- ker and his men appeared upon the scene and established a dragnet is re- garded as a great piece of work and H. lustrates the absolute need of the main- taining of a reserve squad at police head quarters. It so happened that practi- cally the entire force of detectives and plainclothesmen were in the office at the | time. Within the immediate neighbor- hood are hundreds of negro houses and dives containing numbers Of the most l desperate negro characters.
 Officer O'Bryant has been on the force for about year and as half and bore | an exceptionally fine record for faithful performance of his duties and his fear lessness. Though a man of only medium stature he displayed a cool bravery that had won for him the admiration of Ifs fellow officers while his quiet disposition had made him friend of every one with whom he came in contact. He is a married man, with several children, and resides at 1877 Avenue c.