Los Angeles herald., 1910-08-02
FIREMAN KILLS 5;
THEN ENDS LIFE
Discharged EmpIoye Creates a
Reign of Terror in Heart of
San Diego
REVENGE MOTIVE FOR CRIME
Posses in Automobiles Race
Through City in Vain Pursuit
of Murderer
REVENGE MOTIVE FOR CRIME
ASSOCIATED Press)

child, mortally wounding fourth and
seriously wounding fifth, Bert S.
Durham, a discharged employe of the
| local fire department, ended man
! hunt that began at l o'clock this morn
| ing by shooting himself in the head in
| the heart OF the city at 7:15 O'Clock this
morning.
Durham had been hunted relentlessly
| for hours lodged his pursuers, leaving
them without a clew; boarded a car in
| the residence section of the city, rode
| quietly to the plaza in the center of the
| business district and put a bullet in
! his brain. The crack of the pistol was
! the first warning to those in the vicin-
! ity, many of whom We're reading of his
crime, had that he was near He was
| Immediately taken to the police sta
! tion, where he later recovered con-
seriousness. He died at l o'clock this
afternoon.
The victims were Donald w Grant,
engineer engine company No 8, San
| Diego fire department; Mrs. Bert S.
| Durham and child; Peter Sampsell,
! captain hose company No. g. who is
| dying, and Guy Elliott, driver of hose
| company No. 8, who has a chance to
| recover.
FTREMEN AND WOMEN DIE
| The firemen were shot to death. Mrs.
| Durham and her child were beaten to
| death while they lay asleep in their
room in downtown lodging house,
| the murderer using a steel bar After
| killing his wife and child he vanished
and up to the time he shot himself he
| was seen but once or twice by his
| pursuers.
His motive in killing the fremen
was revenge. He had been discharged
from company No, after repeated
! quarrels with his captain. That was
! some months ago. Why he killed his
wife and child is unknown, although
Mrs. Durham had feared for her life
for some time.
Durham planned his crime with the
cunning of a maniac. He turned in
false alarm from box No 72, Second
and Spruce streets, at 12:45 o'clock
this morning. He was armed with two
reVolYers, and selecting a dark spot
near the box awaited the arrival of
his victims. Driver Woods of the en-
| gine company made a fast run to the
! box and shortly before reaching the
| fire plug heard three shots. He says
| he thought little of them, believing
| that they came from some of the more
| frightened neighbors who were trying
| to bring apparatus to the fire.
Later it was fond that prior to the
| time the engine had reached the plug,
| Engineer Grant had been shot and
| that he had fallen from the rear of
| the engine into the street. He was
| picked up by some of the members
! of his own CONF any and after it was
seen he was dead, his remains were
! removed to an undertaking parlor.
SHOT OFF HOSE WAGON
Captain Campbell and Guy Elliott,
the other victims, were on the hose
wagon which followed the engine. Just
fInaEy c1la 10 ,nf 1yx1O 1aJIf
from the best information obtainable,
is is said that Elliott, leaving the
wagon as it slowed up, started to
look for a blaze. He is said to have
heard a voice cry, Here 1t is back
here" and when starting towards the
voice a shot was fired which killed
him.
Another story of the shooting is to
| the effect that two members of the
company were walking towards Fifth
street on Spruce when they were shot
! from ambush. By the time the noise
from the shots had died away the auto
| chemical was on the ground and the
| two injured men were rushed to st.
| Josephs hospital, where Doctors
! Ironoe, Deig and Franklin were called.
| The three physicians for a time were
| unable to tell the extent of the mems
| injuries, other than they were shot
| through the chest and lower part of
| the lungs. Later Captain Sampsell de-
| veloped an internal hemorrhage and
| his wife was summoned,
Assistant Chief Senscord, who was
| on the scene as soon as the auto chem
| ical was able to get him there, was
| one of the first to recognize the as
| sailant as Durham. The news quickly
| flashed to the sheriff's office and
posse, armed with rifles took to the
| roads in automobiles
Chief Almgren stated that Mrs. Dur
| ham had long expected that her hus-
| band would do some act of violence,
and had fears for her own life. Nu-
merous times Durham had uttered
threats againse the flremen of com
nany g. she warned the ffTemen Of
the threats and thought they had taken
it I'D with the police. 1t seems, however,
that Sampsell laughed at the threats,
and held no fears of Durham.
TRAVELS CITY SEEKING LIBEL
According to a member of the fire
department Durham was seen about
half an hour after the shooting of
the fremen at Second and Spruce as
he was running down c street to-
ward Second. 1t Is believed that 1t
was at this time that Durham came to
the lodging house and made away
with his wife and little babe.
The weapon used by Durham in
killing his wife and child was small
piece of steel wrapped in a handker-
chief. According to the firemen, the
police were warned against Durham.
Several times he is said to have threat
ened to kill his wife and on two oc-
casions she is said to have taken re-
yolvers away from him.
The bodies of Mrs. Durham and the
child were discovered at o'clock this
morning by a party who we're search
ing for the murderer and who visited
the apartment of the Durhams, be-
lieying he might have returned there
after shooting the fremen. Durham
had been there and crushed the skulls
of the sleeping woman and baby and
left.
his wife was year or two younger.
The child was 2 years old.
MAN WAS MANIAC, SAY POLICE
Letters found on the person of Dur
ham explain many details which have
puzzled the police and reveal that up
TO the time Durham shot himself the
blood lust was on him. w-
The letters are all lucid, but the po-
lice do not abandon their belief that
Durham was a raVing maniac when he
committed the series of crimes.
In the letters Durham explains that
during the three hours between the
time he beat his wife and child to
death and when he killed himself, and