Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-05-21
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and a wagon started off. Rupp's
mother says she believes Bent had ac-
completes.
Word of the shooting was immedi-
ately sent to Mechanicsburg and the
Harrisburg police were notified to be
on the lookout for the murder or mur-
derers. Lieutenant Worden at once
assigned his men to guard the river
bridges. The officers hid back of the
bushes near the western section of the
bridge. About o'clock they noticed
wagon stop at the western end of
the bridge and saw the tollkeeper
reach for the toll.
Waiting until the wagon was oppo-
site the clump of bushes back of which
they were hiding, the three patrolmen
stepped out, each with a revolver in
his hand, and ordered Bent to stop.
Bent was holding his wounded arm
He was in a da sed condition and
offered no resistance. The three off,
brought Bent to the police station.
A loaded 3S-caliber revolver was found
in the suspects hip pocket.
Bent was taken to the Harrisburg
Hospital, where his arm was dressed.
One of the bullets from Rupp's re-
volver hit Bent's wrist.
Some Cry Lynch Him!"
When news reached Mechanicsburg
that the suspected murderer was being
brought into town in a wagon hun
dreds of people made a rush to Main
street.
1t was with the greatest difficulty
that the police made their way through
the streets with their prisoner. Some
one in the crowd barked out Lynch
him!" and it was necessary for Chief
of Police Martin to threaten to shoot
who do a ont To FOL
Bent out of his hands.
on an early train from Carlisle
came District Attorney Alexander. He
visited the Rupp home and got the
story of the shooting from the rela-
tives of the dead man. Later the dis
trict attorney saw Bent in the Cum
berland county Jail at Carlisle. where
the accused man told his story. He
said:
Bent's Story
II am huckster and live in Har-
risburg. L was selling produce in and
about Mechanicsburg yesterday and
was on my way home about o'clock.
As I passed the Rupp house the har-
ness broke. l got out of the wagon to
fix it,
When 1 was about to step back into
the wagon someone-I guess it was
John Rupp-pointed revolver in my
face and told me to throw up my
hands. l started to make an ex-
planation when the man fired. l fired
too, and when 1 saw the man drop
got into the wagon and started for
Harrisburg. The first shot fired hit
me on the wrist, but l did not feel it
until ! started for Harrisburg. shot
back in self-defense. I was not near
the chicken coops and there was no
one else with me in the wagon"
Blood On Wagon
The wagon, belonging to Bent, in
which were three chicken coops, one.
hen and several bags, with the horse
was placed in charge of a Mechanics
burg liveryman. On one side of the
wagon are several bloodstains. Bent
said first that the marks were straw
berry stains, but later admitted that
the marks were made by his bloody
fingers after he had bandaged up his
wounded arm.
Notwithstanding the early hour at
which the murder occurred, hundreds
of people flocked to the Rupp home.
Rupp was known throughout Cumber-
land county and in Harrisburg He
attended the Chestnut street market
and had milk route here.
Rupp was 40 years of age. He was
a grandson of the late Judge Rupp,
of Cumberland county. Besides the
widow. two children survive. a daugh-
ter, Romaine, aged 10 years, and a
son, Paul, years. Other survivors
are the mother, his brothers, Edgar
and Jacob. and two sisters, Mrs. Henry
Albright and Mrs. Park Brenneman.
Coroner's Verdict
An Investigation and postmortem
was made by DIR. J. H. Deardorf, cor
oner, and DR.. J. 3. Spengler, of Me-
chanicsburg, the attending physician.
The verdict was as follows:
John Rupp came to hs death on
the morning of May 21 by a bullet
wound, the bullet penetrating the left
side of the body, passing through the
lung short distance below the heart,
lodging in the right side OF the body.
Death was due to hemorrhages follow
ing the penetration of the lung 1t Is
believed the bullet was fired from
revolver in the hands of one John
Bent. alias Stlne, of Harrisburg
Following the postmortem the bullet
was cut from the right side of the
body. The ball was 3S caliber, cor
responding with the bullets In the
shells found on Bent.