Brighouse & Rastrick Gazette. — 1879-09-13 (Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England)

ATTEMPTED DOUBLE MURDER AND  SUICIDE IN HULL.  A dreadful shooting affray took place on Wednesday in a court off Dock-street, Hull. The particulars to be gleaned up to the present are somewhat meagre, the parties primarily concerned lying between life and death at the Infirmary. The victims in this case are two Italians and a girl named Lock, nineteen years of age, an unfortunate. The locale is a house No. 7, North-court, a narrow passage leading from Dock-street into George-street, inhabited chiefly by foreigners, the Italian element predominating. The particulars gleaned are to the following effect :—The house in which the tragedy was committed was known as an Italian boardinghouse, and kept by a Nicolas Dennette. The assailant was an Italian named Marco Zucco, a seaman on board the steamship " L'ltalianthe," and his victims Nicolas Dennette, the keeper of the boarding-house already mentioned, and Annie ;Lock, 19 years of age, residing at No. 3, Little Queen-street. Zucco, the last time he came to Hull, about five weeks ago, made the acquaintance of Lock, and cohabited with her. It is stated that he at that time stabbed her in the chest. For this reason she declined on Tuesday night to have any more to do with him. The meeting took place at Lubeck's "Prince of Wales Café" in Dock-street, and from thence Zucco appears to have gone and pawned a coat and vest, and with the proceeds purchased a revolver. He returned to the café, and told Lock that there were three shots in the revolver for her and three for himself. Little notice appears to have been taken of the threat at the time, and Lock having declined to go home with him took refuge for the night at Dennette's lodging-house. About six o'clock on Wednesday morning Zucco went to the house and asked for the girl, but was refused admittance. About half-past twelve he was seen walking about Dock-street, minus his coat and vest, with something concealed under his shirt. His appearance naturally created some curiosity, and the neighbours soon began to ask what he wanted. From the street he went to Dennette's, and forced an entrance into the house. Dennette was at the time peeling potatoes for dinner, and Zucco, without any hesitation said," I will shoot you," and upon that produced a revolver, and shot Dennette in the right eye. Zucco then seems to have rushed upstairs into Lock's bedroom, she being in bed at the time, and fired two shots at her, both taking effect. She got out of bed and ran downstairs, but another report was then heard, Zucco having shot himself through the ear. The firing alarmed the neighbourhood, and soon the residents were in the house to render assistance. The neighbours procured shutters and doors, and upon them the three injured persons were conveyed to the Infirmary. At the latter institution an examination was made, when it was discovered that Lock had received two of the shots, the first striking her in the forehead and coming out at the right temple, after piercing the skull. The second shot pierced her in the hand, struck her in the chest, and is supposed to have then glanced off, as there is the mark of a bullet on the tip of her nose. Dennette is shot through the right orbit, and the bullet is lodged somewhere near the eye ; the sight, however, is not destroyed. Zucco shot himself in the right ear, and the bullet is buried in the skull. All three are in very great danger. An examination of Zucco's effects at the police. station after the occurrence brought to light a book, pinned inside of which was a pawn ticket for a coat and vest, which thus confirms the statement made above, that the proceeds were devoted to the purchase of a revolver.