Evening star., 1948-03-02

duty tonight, in addition to bring.
ing back Uniformed police working
Force to Be More Than Doubled.
The force will be more than
doubled during the pm. to mid
night period. Between those hours
Mr.. Meyrovitch was killed last night
and two cab drivers were shot fatally
last Friday.
Uniformed police working days will
return to their precincts at pm.
and work until 10 pm, when the
men regularly assigned to midnight
duty will 60 to work.
The battle to stop the killers be-
fore they strike again also led the
Police Department today to offer
$500 rewards for information lead
ing to the capture and conviction
of the murderers In each Of the
three cases.
A further reward of $3.50 for the
capture Of the cab drivers MUIR
derers was voted by Combined Cab
Service, Inc, and other cab COM
panies and individual drivers ex-
pected to increase the reward total
with their contributions.
Maj Barrett also issued request
to grocers and proprietors OF other
small stores to notify police i'm
mediately If they spot any suspicious
characters or If they know of any
person they suspect may be carrying
a pistol. He promised the source Of
any tips will be kept confidential.
At the same time, he called on all
cab drivers to call police immed-
lately If they are hailed by any
suspicious persons. Police, Maj. Bar
rett said. will respond quickly to the
locations given in these calls.
A special police lineup today
failed to produce any link between
three suspects and the three killings.
Two of the men were released. The
third, a 17-year-old colored youth,
was held for the Juvenile Court
in another case.
Shot With Small -Caliber Bullet.
Mr.. Meyrovitch was shot through
the left chest with small-caliber
bullet. An autopsy was to be per-
formed today to trace its course
and to determine the range from
which it was fired.
The only clue police had to the
identity of the slayer was neigh
boris description of dark-skinned
colored man with a short jacket and
dark cap of the type used by
garagemen He was seen lurking in
the neighborhood about the time Of
the shooting and the neighbor
thought she saw him coming from
the store
Police reconstructing the Negro
witch Staying said they believed the
killer-a stranger to the neighbor-
f1ood-posed as customer when
he entered the store.
Apparently Offered Resistance.
He started ordering groceries,
they believe, and then flashed his
pistol at the grocer. Mr. Negro
witch apparently made some move
to. resist. police believe, although
he did not disturb an unloaded .3S
caliber pistol which he kept under
the counter TO frighten away hold
up men.
The fatal shot was fired at
range of not more than 3 feet,
1t. jeremiah Flaherty Of the honli-
eide squad estimated.
The slayer then scooped the bills
out of the cash register, spilling
the change in his grab, police be-
Iieve. In his rush to make his
getaway the killer did not pause TO
60 through his victims pockets.
S1,587 Found In Pockets.
Undisturbed in the pockets we're
1887 in cash and s404 in eight
Government checks.
Police believe the killer was q
stranger because he didn't know
what any regular customer Of the
store would have known-that Mr..
made change from a
large roll Of bills in his pockets.
The grocer's neighbors on either
side-separated only by thin par
they heard no shot.
Police. however, we're checking on
reports tn ''ildren playing in tbs
(See ERS, Page A-6)