The Birkenhead News and Wirral General Advertiser. — 1908-04-25 (Birkenhead, Merseyside, England)

LOCAL HISTORY.  An old Birkonian, at present a resident in Montreal, Canada, has forwarded • lIF papers from that Dominion across the seas, in which is described a most extraordinary affray—an affray which at the time created a sensation not only in the immediate States but over the whole of the civihsed world.•  It appears from the various accounts that Constable (YShauglinessy, of the Montreal Pollee Force, accompanied by Constable Foucault, on the airternoon. of April 6th visited the lodgings of a man known as James Smith, in Manoestreet. Montreal. for the purpose of serving a warrant c,harging him with carrying a concealed weapon. The complainant was his landlady, •Mrs. Pritchard. On arriving at the corner of Mance-street the officers were met by Mrs. Pritchard and her two daughtere, who stated that Smith was alone in the house. • Proceeding to the house the officers loand the door looked, but on knocking Smith told them to go • away, as he would • have nothing to do with them. The officers returned to Mrs. Pritchard and asked her to enter the back of the house and let them in. This Mrs. Pritchard promised -to do, and the officers took up a position on the front steps. While waiting- therfa.Smith made an appearance, and without' giving any hint of • HIS MURDEROUS ANTENTION  lifted .a rifle to his Shoulder atid fired. shooting Foucault in the head,. The. man staggered, and had it not been- for his coin- , panion, would have fallen, Offihaughnesey immediately hauled him out of the danger sone. The noise of the firing 'brought neighbours to- the spot, and a scene of intense I excitement prevailed when, Foucault,- with I blood streaming from hl4 wound, was seen. I The injured man- was taken with the assistance of some spectators to a neighbouring shop, and later was removed in the ambulance to the hospital. Information of what had occurred was sent to one of the police Stations, and the officer . in charge despatched four constables, including a fine young fellow named George Shea, to arrest , Smith. The officers approached the house ill a body, with Shea •in the van, it being evident that they were unaware that Smith was on the, watch a yard or two behind the glass door with a loaded gun. Shea ran up the steps and was about to place his hand on the door knob when Smith pulled the trigger and the charge, crashing through the glass, buried itself in the left breast of poor Shea. With a cry he fell backwards. and was • PICKED UP DEAD  by his companions. The remaining officers carried the body out of the range of Smith's murderous rifle, and reinforcements were sent for.. . .  The crowd by this time had grown to considerable dimensions, and it required the assistance of over a hundred constables to keep them back. it being about sir o'clock, working men and others from all parts of the city, hearing of the shooting, sought Manceetreet. The crowd surged close to the very doors of the house, and on several occasions Smith 08010 YO the windows and waved his gun as though to warn everybody that whoever attempted to molest him did so at the risk of his life. A word of command was given by Captain Loye, who was in charge of the force, and the constables commenced to clear the people out of range of the gun. After this had been done Chief Detective Carpenter and a few. -picked constables began to plan a means of capturing- Smith before he did further damage. In, the meantime Smith kept going from room to room, making it evident that it was useless to try to rash- the house, while an efiort put forward by the man's landiord proved unavailing. • A suggestion of fumigating the fiat was ake usei, as in ' the.- Oat above I tired. an. -invalid - to whom the fames I might-have. proved fatal, and as an alternative the be brigade was suggested. For four hour& Smith kept the polite at bay, and. by the time the- brigade arrived the crowd had reached close upon 5,000 -persons. Several mains were tapped by the firemen, who, while the water spurted through ' the broken windows, stood out of the direct firing line. After playing on the lower windows for a temp Chief Detective Carpenter ordered fitel &lett. tS WY the top windows. I and reached up to break the glass with a I stick. As he did so Smith again used his I rifle,. and