The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-01-10
OUTLETS RAINED BY
MACHINE GUN ON
HARTFORD STREETS
Scores of Persons Imperilled
When Gun Gets Beyond
Control OF Testers.

Hartford, Conn, Jan. 10-Scores Of
! considerable property damage was
done in the heart of the business sec
| ton yesterday afternoon when a new
| machine gun, discharging SO bullets
| a minute, got beyond control of test
ers at the proving grounds of the
Colt Firearms Factory. There was
| literal shower Of bullets which lasted
some minutes, whizzing by the heads
| of, persons in the streets crashing
through windows and burying them
selves in the walls Of buildings.
The fusillade became SO menacing
at one time that persons deserted
their autos and ran for shelter. The
sidewalks were cleared in short
time and remained SO until it was
finally learned what had happened.
Building, a Mile Distant, Pierced.
The factory is in the southwestern
section Of the city, about a mile from
the most distant point at which one
shot struck. This was in the Office of
Dr. Frederick T. Simpson, No. 1872
High street, where a .45-calibre bullet
crashed through window and
let's struck and almost penetrated one
Of the steel tanks Of the Hartford
City Gas Light Company, about half
q mile from where the gun stood. A
dozen workmen who were oiling the
structures ways and girder rollers
scattered. Dents an eighth of an inch
deep were made in the tank.
Another batch of bullets struck st.
n r%0y
edifice.
Whirred About Heads of Roofers.
Bullets whirred about the heads of
crew Of roofers at work on a new
AUTOMOBILE building in Allyn street
in the line of range with the church
and DR.. Simpsons office. The work
ers fell fat<to the roof and remained
there until the bombardment was
over.
Missiles struck the upper part of
Fire House No. 6, which is close to
the Colt works, and rif1ed their way
through the brick walls.
The Andrews & Peck window and
sash factory received many of the
bullets. They went through one side
of the building and came out on the
other. Several other structures were
reported by the police to have been hit
and damaged about the same time, but
later a lone bullet broke window in
the Goodwin building on Asylum
street.
In the midst of the excitement the
police decided the cause Of the trouble
might be in the Colt works Several
rushed there, and to them officers ex-
planned there had been misca1cula-
ton on the moving range, but explain
ed only vaguely how the gun became
unmanageable. At police headquar-
ters last night no one knew whether
the Colt concern has permits to dis
charge firearms in the city limits.
Won't Happen Again, He Says
Col. William c.. Skinner, President
of the company, declined to say if the
gun being tested was one of the new
Vickers type made at the plant, for
the United States Government ! He
denied q report that the gun mad ex-
rloded.
.'The occurrence" he said, "never
will be repeated, because the testers
have learned their lesson and in fu-
ture will use sufficiently large abut-
ments to stop loose Shots"
Formerly the Colt | machine guns
and revolvers were tested at q range
located south of the factory build
ings, but since the plant began filling
large war orders new ranges had to
be- opened, one of which evidently
points to the heart of Hartford's bus
mess district.