The Detroit times., 1910-02-05
DEMENTED MAN IS
CAPTURED AFTER
LONG SIEGE
+. W. Bourke Locks Self in Home.
and Armed With Shotgun, Holds
Police at Bay For
- Hours.
Fires at Passersby and Wounds One
Man-0fficers Finally Venture Into
House and Find Man Hiding.

After holding the police at bay for
hours with a doube-barreled shotgun.
with which he kept the neighborhood
In state OF terror throughout Thurs.
nay night and Friday morning. wound
ING one man and narrowly missing
several others, Frederick w. Bourke.
demented flour merchant, was fin.
any captured by a squad Of police
from Canheld station In his home, No
100 Forest-ave. west, shortly before
1880 o'clock Friday.
Bourke was found hiding under a
vide porch of brick construction, eX-
tending across the entire front of the
handsome residence. He appeared 10
be asleep, but the officers say he was
shamming. In eluding the officers he
displayed the craftiness characteristic
OF the insane man. In the first place
ne chose about the last place anyone
would think OF exploring for traces OF
MIN, and carefully covered up his
trail, closing after him the basement
window through which he gained ac-
cess TO his strange retreat. He was
httlred only In his underclothes and a
canvas hunting coat The latter was
exactly the same color as the bricks
used In the construction Of the house.
and at first deceived the officers com
pletely. They peered through the
basement window looking under the
porch two or three times before they
discovered Bourkes presence
Bourke was not armed then and
quietly accompanied his captors TO the
living room upstairs after he had
been awakened" The gun was found
later in woodpile I'm the basement
IL had been taken apart and the dIf-
ferent sections were hidden I'm widely
separated parts OF the pile Just two
shells were all that remained OF his
ammunition. so that his attack" on
the neighborhood must have ended
soon even had not the police inter
fered
The officers were unable TO get q
word out Of Bourke. lie ignored their
questions entirely. He was placed on
a couch In the living room under
strong guard He would sometimes
look up into the face of his unbidden
visitors and smile, at the same time
slyly winking his eye, but not sound
came from his lips
Mr.. Bourke was removed temporar-
fly TO a local hospital until arrange
ments can be made To place him in a
santarium Apparently he was suf-
ferng from a deluson that his home
was a fortress and that pedestrians
and police officers on guard consti-
tuted hesieging army, for he not
o. Nv fred az passersby promiscuously
with his shotgun, hut placed pieces OF
drain tile, iron sewer pipe. garden hose
and other such objects i'm the open
windows in imitation OF cannon and
rapid-fire guns.
II was about i:3O o'clock Thursday
afternoon that the attention OF the po-
lice was called TO Bourke. Thomas
Mccall. Of No 80 Dufheld-st, was
passing the house when Bourke sud
denly raised a window i'm the attic and
fred point blank al him. Mccall re-
ceived the charge fun i'm the face and
was at first thought To be seriously
Wounded, but an examination showed
his injuries were only superficial
Previously the ne!ghbors had heard
shots at frequent Intervals and hal
heard the pellets strike their windows.
but the source of the bombardment
was not revealed until Mccall was
struck. Two policemen we're then de-
tailed 10 guard the house In case
Bourke came out. fearing TO go inside
lest he open fire on them All through
the night they kept up the vigil, the
monotony OF which was broken by an
occasional shot from one Of the up
stairs windows
Bourke resumed operations with I'M
usual vigor early Friday morning,
taking pot shots AT all who venturcd
near. An old man who started 10
walk across a va can't lot adjoining the
Rourke home wac selected as a mark
and a charge of shot whistled danger
ously close to his head. II was some
time before the police thought OF sta
tioning men around the premises TO
warn passers-by.
In the meantime. BOurke continued
10 hold undisputed possession Of the
house. with doors and windows Sc
curely locked and barricaded. Deteo-
tives and patrolmen came from Can
field station singly and in pairs, but
no one attempted to force an entrance
tC the house.