SHOT THROUGH THE BODY

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21976, 28 December 1936, Page 6

SHOT THROUGH THE BODY

v YOUTH’S DEATH AT INVERCARGILL INCIDENT IN DANK EARLY MORNING ARGUMENT (I'RF.SS ASSOCIATION 'J UI.IIGIIA.M.) INVERCARGILL, December 27. An altercation early this morning, involving two bank clerks sleeping on the premises of the Bank of New Zealand at Tay street, Inverpargill, and four young men whom they admitted to the premises, ended in one of the visitors being fatally wounded by a revolver shot. The dead youth is Michael Fletcher, aged 19, a storeman. He w r as employed by Woolworths, Ltd., and lived with his parents at 93 Biggar street, Invercargill. Fletcher was one of a party of four who, seeing a light in the bank in the early hours of the morning, rang the door bell. They were admitted by one of the two clerks on duty, and taken to the clerk s living quarters, although it is understood that the visitors were not known to the clerks. After the six men had been together for about two hours —during which it is stated several attempts were made to induce the visitors to leave —an excited argument arose, in which one of the party fired three shots at Fletcher with a revolver, shooting him through the body. There had apparently been fighting before this, because one of the bank clerks was injured about the face. Fletcher staggered from where he was shot to the door, and down the path leading from the door to a side gate in Clyde street, where he collapsed. Assistance Called It is not certain whether the other three visitors were in or out of the building when the shot was fired, but as soon as they missed Fletcher they began to look for him. When he was found the police were called, and also a doctor, a priest, and an ambulance. The first policeman on the scene, Constable Summers, found Fletcher deeply unconscious, and obviously gravely injured. He was hurried to hospital by ambulance, and died cither on the way or immediately after his admission. The other five men were taken to the police station, and gave statements about the shooting. Three of these men, who were visitors to the bank, will be charged in the Magistrate’s Court to-morrow morning with being illegally on bank premises. No other charge has yet been laid against any of the party. Detective-Sergeant Thompson was called to the bank shortly after the shooting occurred, and he took charge of the investigation. An inquest was opened this morning before Mr W. H. Freeman, the coroner, but it was adjourned sine die after evidence of identification had been taken. It is a standard practice of banks to keep revolvers for use in time of emergency by employees who sleep on the premises, and it was with one of these weapons that the fatal shot was fired.