Evening star., 1948-03-06
Pittsburgh
Continued From First Page.)

Kercher. Both were taken to Mer-
Ger Hospital where Officer Chym-
slinski was said to be in critical
condition.
The officers last saw their two
prisoners darting into brush sur
rounding the suburban road where
the gunplay occurred. One was
dragging the other, Officer Kercher
reported.
Allegheny County Detective JOS
eph Stark, 27, of nearby Sewickley
and Edward Cooperstein of Pitts
burgh identified by police as the
bystander were wounded at the
road block.
This gunfire was touched off as
officers believed they had sprung
trap on the Bethel suspects around
an East Liberty district. When two
unidentified men approached and
did not stop on challenge, police be-
gan firing.
r. Cecil Hancock, driver of the
Colonial Cab Co. of Bethel Town
ship, said he delivered the two rob-
berry suspects into State police hands,
by taking them where they wanted
to 60.
Il knew as soon as ! saw them they
were the ones the police wanted" !"
Mr.. Hancock said.
Had Blanket Over Arms.
'They were standing close together
with a blanket over their arms.
was shaking. They talked about the
weather and having trouble with
their car They said they had to
walk long way to make the phone
call for a cab"
The phone call was made from a
remote pay station in McMurray
which aroused the suspicion of an
alert cab dispatcher. The cab COM
pany had been advised by police to
pick up suspicious persons and drive
them to the requested destination
and then notify authorities.
Mr.. Hancock said the pair asked
70 be taken to the gasoline station,
for which. they offered no reason.
Observing a motion by the cab
driver, State police in the sstation
came out with drawn guns and took
the pair without struggle.
Mr.. Hancock, former truck body
builder, answered preliminary ques-
tions and then, apparently unpre-
turbed, went about his regular busi-
ness.
Flee After Firing Four Shots.
The hospital robbery occurred as
Paymaster Robert r. Chalmers, S.,
and Elizabeth Bruck, IS, book
keeper, were in the midst of paying
employees in basement room.
The bandits fled after firing four
shots, two of them inside the i'm
posing 22-story building. Patients
in the modern 500-bed hospital In
the city's North Side were unaware
of the robbery and were not dis
turbed.
The bandits auto, stolen earlier
in the day, was abandoned near the
hospital. Police Inspector Frank A.
Ferris said 81 300 was found inside
Gllc Cal hlOIlS Will oll outohhobAS
pistol.
Mr.. Chalmers gave this version
of the robbery:
II noticed two men come up to
the front of the payroll line but !
thought they were employees. One
said something about giving him the
box the money contained. reached
for it but about that time one fell
low fired a shot. I don't know where
it went.
Fired ut Paymaster.
"The other bandit grabbed the
box and he and his companion ran
down the hall and up a stairway. I
didn't have a gun, but I followed
them. One of them turned and
pointed his gun at me and fired. I
f1attened myself against the wall
and didn't get hit. Then the men
ran out into the hospital courtyard
and ran to their automobile.
The bandits fired two other shots
outside the hospital. ...
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