The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-06-08
MANS SHOOTING
MYSTERY;
TOLD CONFLICTING
{. W. Wright, Druggist, in
Hospital Badly Wounded.
BIames Negro Highwaymen.
Others Hint at Woman.

|
Others Hint at Woman.
Police Tuesday were trying to recon-
| cile conflicting statements of witnesses
and Eugene W. Wright, 27, proprietor
of the Wright Drug Co., 500 jackson
avenue, in an effort to solve the mys-
| terry surrounding the shooting of the
| latter on the Pigeon Roost road Mon
day night Vigorously declaring he had
been shot by two negroes after they
had relieved him of $50 and a watch
Wright is at the Baptist hospital in
serious condition with a bullet wound
In his shoulder. A woman, who police
witnesses. said was in the car sup
posed to be Wright's, has not been To-
Gated by police and strenuous efforts
are being made to locate her.
Later developments Tuesday, accord
ing to police, seemed to COrroborate
more substantially statements of the
wounded man in denying there was a
shooting. Investigation by officers have
led them to partially believe that the
woman who w. l.. Rice and Herbert
Crawford, passing autoists, saw in
Wright's car was one of the two ac
eompanying Mr.. Sivas, living on the
Pigeon Roost road, who picked up the
wounded man and brought him to the
hospital.
However, the police have as yet been
unable to reconcile the difference in
hours in which Wright and witnas
said the shooting occurred. Police, how
ever, admit the possibility of Wright
having been so frightened as not to
realize what time it was when he was
shot, but other hours given by Mrs,
Wright as the time of her arrival at the
bedside of her husband have not been
reconciled
Course of Bullet.
Mrs Wright said Tuesday over the
telephone to a representative of The
News Scimitar that her husband stopped
MS automobile to repair a headlight
when he was accosted by two negroes,
one of whom was armed with a pistol |
he was. en- route to the home of a |
friend, Mrs. Wright declared, to bring
him back to the prize fight Mrs |
Wright said her husband declared that |
when he stopped over after the negroes |
pad robbed him, they evidently thought |
fired. |
The course of the bullet, according to |
hospital attaches, would indicate it was |
fired while Wright was in such a posi-. |
ton, as it struck high up in the shoul- |
der and ranged downward. An X-ray
was necessary to locate it, After the |
shootlng the negroes fled.
Statements of w. l.. Rice, $40 Ex- |
change building, who, while riding with |
Herbert Crawford, 1897 Harbert ave
nue., was virtually a witness to the
occurrence, conflict with Wrights |
statement. Rice said Tuesday that |
Nrights car was going east on the
Pigeon Roost road at a rapid rate and
that when it passed them it stopped |
with such suddenness as to skid the
wheels. A woman in the car screamed |
two or three times; Come here,
please according to Rice.
I'VE figured it was another auto ban
dit attempt" declared Rice, "and didn't
stop until we reached Lewis grocery
store, near the railroad tracks OBJ
tanning assistance, we returned to the
automobile, which we found deserted,
but standing across the roadway at
and mans hat was still in the car
We do not know how the man and
woman got away, but supposed that Il
car following us picked them up"
Hours Conflict.
Statements of Wright's and Rice's
conflict relative to the time of the
shooting. According to Mrs Wright
Tuesday, the shooting occurred about
. pm. She said her husband was ad-
mitted to the Baptist hospital by a
MIR. Sivas about pm, and she ar
rived there about 10 O'clock Hospital
attaches stated Tuesday that the time
of admittance to the institution was
approximately II o'clock. Rice said he
was certain the shooting was later thanl
s o'clock, as he and Crawford left the
business district in an automobile about
s AS p m, and rode for some time around
the Parkway and cross roads before
they met with Wrights car. Rice esti-
mated the time of the occurrence be-
tween 10 and 1890 o'clock
Rice also declared he heard no pis-
tol shot
Wright declared. according to his
wife, that after he was shot, a Mr..
Sivas, residing near the scene on the
Pigeon Roost road came by in an au-
tomobile containing two women and
picked him up. The women began
screaming when they saw him wound
said her husband declared that was 5
where the women" came into the oc- r
Sivas and the two women I
carried him to the Baptist hospital. {
Police said Tuesday it was possible q
Tor Rice and Crawford to have seen /
his car and that the occupants sought {
10 stop. them for assistance for the {
man.
Detectives have been assigned to the i
Ease by Detective Chief W.T. Griffin
n an effort to solve the mystery. +
Wrights condition was reported good I
Tuesday, but only his wife was per- \
nitted to converse with him. An opera :
ion will be necessary to remove the ,
outlet. which is imbedded in the flesh /
n the back some distance under the +
skin. The course or the bullet was {
raced by the X-ray and hospital at 4
aches said Tuesday that unless com +
,lications developed. Wright's recovery a
vas practically certain. Francis Quinn q
'ity mail carrier telephoned police q
headquarters about 1890 O'Clock and "
'eported having heard the shots ana
Ipon investigation found the auto de-
'erted. passing negro told him ac-
,ordtng TO police, that a passing autoist \
picked up the man and< woman and {
OOk them hack n foun n,,fpn 1 4