Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-07-18
WITNESSES OF
SHOOTING Give
new VERSIONS
Stories of Battle Between
Police and Bandit Differ;
Dead Man Fired
One Shot.

Detective Frank Murphy, who
Vas shot by Judd Tobias, alias Joe
Trimble, Tuesday night, was much
improved yesterday, according to re-
ports from the Lord Lister hospital,
and it is now believed he will re-
cover. The danger OF peritonitis,
however. has not passed. The bull
let was removed from his abdomen
Wednesday. s....
Ar entirely new version Of the
shooting in which Tobias, alleged
bandit and highwayman was killed,
was told yesterday by eye witnesses.
Their account of the fight differs in
many material instances from the
account OF it given by the detec-
tives.
According to this new account of
the killing there was a fight be
tween the bandit and officers before
any shots were fired.
Tobias is said to have been struck
on the back of the head while he
struggled with the policemen near
the corner of Twentieth and Dodge
streets. In a dazed condition he
started to run east in Dodge street
followed by Detective Lundeen and
Murphy. Murphy dropped with a
bullet in his stomach short dis
.tance from the place where the BAN
dit collapsed as a result of the blow
he received on the head.
The bandit was clutching the re-
yolver in his hand when the officer
fired the shot through his heart,
Tobias had been dead but short
while wien Lundeen stood over the
dead body of his victim shaking
hands with and receiving the con-
gratulations of his fellow officers for
what was termed "a good job"
Say Shot After He Fell.
Tobias, they declare. was shot to
death by Detective Lundeen after
he had fallen on vacant lot mid
way between Nineteenth and Twen-
tieth streets on Dodge.
Tobias fired but single shot. 1t
struck Detective Murphy. His re-
volver missed fire when he attempt
ed to shoot the second time. An ex-
animation of the weapon used by
size bandit revealed but one explod-
!. she'll. The cap of another she'll
in the chamber of the pistol was
struck by the hammer, but it failed
to explode. as,
Detective Lundeen fired six shots
from his weapon. Five OF them
missed their mark. The last shot
fred by the officer entered the ban
dts left breast, penetrating the
heart and emerging from the mans
back.
Lived Over IS Minutes.
( Though the man did not die for
Is or 20 minutes the police made
no effort to hasten the wounded
victim to the hospital.
Detective Murphy and the bandit
were lying on the ground short
distance from each other. They
were rolling in pain when the auto
mobile arrived to convey the
wounded men 10 the hospital:
Murphy was taken and Tobias died
on the vacant lot where he was shot
a quarter of an hour or more before !
according to witnesses who saw the
affair.
A few minutes after the bandit
died another police car drew up to
the curb. The driver refused to
take the man away and three quar-
ters Of an hour afterwards the body
was removed to the undertaking es-
tablishrnent. *
Says Fired Downward.
Il was standing on my front
porch" said Mrs. Grace Coleman,
1919 Dodge street, when the shot
that killed the man was fred. l was
to retire when I heard
the shooting at the corner. ] went |
to the front door and when | looked
out I saw the men moving east in
Dodge street. About half way in the
block on a vacant lot opposite my
house l saw the detective when he /
fred the last shot. | saw the blaze
leap from the revolver 1t looked
to me like the officer held the weap-
on slightly below his waist line and
fired directly into the ground.
E"I rushed across the street and
when saw the body of the man
lying on the ground, l knew the de-
tective stood above him and fired
the shot into his body as he lay
helpless at the policenan's feet"
Il was walking west on Dodge