The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1910-05-10
Sad Accident Occurs Mon
day Evening.
WILLIAM B. BIRD The VICTIM
Lads Were Playing "Wilt
West"
Revolver, Believed to be Empty Is
Discharged, the Bullet Striking
Young Bird and Causing Almost
Instant Death.

William Bryan Bird, the thirteen,
year old son of Mrs. Princess Bird,
lof Mark street, Is dead. and Omer
Cocheral his playmate is heartbroken,
as a result of very unfortunate
shooting accident occurring at S:15
o'clock Monday night.
The accident occurred at the corner
of Mark and north Greenwood streets
where a crowd of boys had assembled
for the purpose of playing wild
West" Young Bird was standing on
the west side of Greenwood street,
leaning against a telephone pole.
Omer Cocherl was sitting on a large
boulder on the east side of the street.
A group of boys We're standing near
Bird and all were laughing and Jest
ing. Cocherl drew revolver from his
pocket ano proceeded to snap it. He
had pulled the self acting trigger
twice when there was an explosion.
He jumped to his feet very much
startled as he believed the gun to be
empty. The lad was Mortified when he
saw young Bird stagger to his feet,
throw up his hands and with muf-
fled cry, drop to the sidewalk In n
heap.
Come on boys, I'm afraid he Is
hurt badly; let's carry him home"
exclaimed Cocherl as he tenderly lift
ed his favorite playmate from the
ground. The victim was carried to his
home, a few blocks distant. DR.. James
Wilson McMurray and Coroner w. II.
HinSlin were summoned. The boy was
dead when they arrived.
| Omer Cocherl was brokenhearted
when a Mirror reporter interviewed
him Tuesday morning. His own story
of the accident follows:
1T all happened 80 quickly that
can hardly realize everything that oc-
Cured 1 was sitting on q boulder
and was swapping the gun when IL
was suddenly discharged. / had had
two cartridges in the chamber but |
thought that 1 had removed them. I
remember now of having started to
take the shells out when one of the
boys called to me. When / started
pulling the trigger l fully thought the
gun was empty. Even after the gun
IeXploded, l did not think of anyone
being injured as / thought the muz-
Zle was pointing to the ground. Bryan
was one of my best friends and can
hardly believe that / have killed him"
exclaimed the lad as the tears rolled
down his cheks.
There were several witnesses to the
shooting The boys standing i'm the
vicinity We're, Francis McAndrew
Wilbur and Clarence Yoalum, Ralph
and Carl Marshall, Frank Walker.
William Souler, Fred Reed, Jacob
HUFFMAN, Fred White, and Claude
Bosh.
The body of the victim was removed
To the private morgue of the Schafr-
ner undertaking company and a post
mortem examination was conducted
Iat o'clock Tuesday morning DIR. IS
a. Rhu and j. w. McMurray conduct
ed the examination. They found that
The bullet had entered near the base
lof the right arm, passed through the
right lung, perforating the main blood
! vessels of the lung cutting off the
aorta and dropping loose into the
thoraic cavity. The bullet was but
little marred. The physicians declare
that death must have occurred al
most instantly.
,, The fact that the bullet was MOI
; crushed, makes 1t evident that IL was
not deflected from a stone which was
/, the first supposition. The boys who
Witnessed the accident believed that
the gun was pointing at the grounc
and that the bullet glanced off of G
[ stone striking the victim.
: the lad was next to the youngest
OF family of four children. on,
$ brother, Milburn, aged six and tive
= sisters, Myrtle and Cecil, survive
d About two months ago he was at tn,
$ point of death as a result OF an at
G tack of appendicitis. He was operated
upon by a local physician and hi,
r health restored. Only within the las
Few weeks has he been able to pla,
with the boys. He was an exceed
g ingly bright, intelligent lad and wa,
: very popular with his playmates.
Il Funeral arrangements have no
been completed.