Albuquerque morning journal., 1922-12-09
BOY NINE YEARS
OLD IS SHOT At
BARELAS BRIDGE
Felipe BaTeIIa Killed Instant
Iy When Shot With Small
Rifle; Officers Search for
Other Boys

Felipe Barella, nine-year-old hoy
whose home was 1907 Barclas
road, was shot through the body at
about 1:45 yesterday afternoon,
while seated on the railing Of the
Barelas bridge. The bullet which
was fired from q % caliber rifle,
entered the left side Of the boy s.
body and passed entirely through
the body, piercing the heart in It's
passage, Death is believed to have
been instantaneous.
The sherfGs office is following
! up the case on the premise that
four small boys seen crossing the
bridge shortly after the Barelia
boy was shot, We're implicated in
the affair, The sheuff's office was
notified Of the shooting immedi-
ately after the body Of the child
was found. Chief Deputy Fred
FornoH and Deputies Charley
Banghart and Noise Gutierrez in
vestigated the case,
After an investigation Of the
scene OF the boys death and Of the
wound the officers arrived at the
conclusion that the boy had been
shot at close range, while sitting
on the guard rail of the bridge.
The shock of the bullet, they be-
lieve, caused him to tOpple from
the bridge. The opinion that he
was shot at close range Is based on
the fact that the wound was caus-
ed by u bullet from a % caliber
rifle and the bullet had pierced
through the boys body from left
to right side.
According to the reports made 10
Chief Deputy Fornoff and his as
sistants, little Felipe Baiella left
his home about one o'clock in the
afternoon. He went to the bridge
intending to ride with his uncle
who was hauling caliche. The un-
Gle. whose name was not learned,
told the boy to wait for him at
the east end of the bridge, promis-
ing TO take the boy with him on
the next trip,
The uncle left for his first load
shortly before 1880. When he left
the boy was sitting on the rail run
ming along the side of the bridge.
He had promised to remain in the
close vicinity until his uncle re-
turned.
A short time later Elogio Chav-
ez was crossing the bridge. Glanc-
ing down he saw the body Of the
boy, lying face up just under the
spot where he had been sitting.
Noting that the boys eyes and
mouth were partly open, Chavez
FASTENED down to the spot ana
made a closer examination. lie
said the boy was dead when he
found him and that he immediate
ly hastened to the Barella nome
and notified the family. The BODY
was then removed TO the Barella
home.
Upon further investigation the
Officers learned that four boys had
crossed the bridge at about the
time the little Barella boy was
shot. These boys were described
as being between 10 and IL years
of age and witnesses say each car
ried small rifle.
The officers made a thorough
search of the brush on both sides
of the river in an effort to locate
the boys. They were known to
have crossed the bridge and
minute search was instituted on
the east side. However, the boys
had not been located up till a late
hour last night.
The boys being searched for are
described as American boys and
arc reported to have worn skull
caps. one little Spauish-Amerlcan
boy, about ten years old. said ne
had seen a boy Of about II or ~
passing his house on the west side
of the bridge some time after one
o'clock. lie said that this boy had
been loading a rifle when he pass
ed the house. The boy was not
certain whether the other young
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