TERRIBLE AFFRAY AT HOUNDSDITCH.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1042, 3 February 1911, Page 2

TERRIBLE AFFRAY AT HOUNDSDITCH.

FULL PARTICULARS' BY MAIL. GRAPHIC STORY. DESPERATE CRIMINALS: UNARMED POLICE.

The English mail which arrived on Tuesday gives full particulars of tho terrible affray at Houudsditch which' took placeon December 16. Tho "Manchester Guardian" of December 19 gives the following graphic description of the crime: Not. for a long time has a crime so startled London as that which was perpetrated late nu Friday night, December IG, in Houndsditch, when one police sergeant was killed almost instantly, and on the following day two more officers died from the wounds they had received.' From the reports that had reached them the police formed the theory that the occupants of a house in Exchange Buildings, off Culler Street, Houndsditch, were trying to tunnel from that house to a jeweller's shop which stands at right anylea to it, but which is entered from an adjoining thoroughfare. Three sergeants and two constables tried to enter the house in Exchange Buildings, when the people inside opened fire on them. In a few seconds all the officers were lying ih a disabled state in tho roadway, ana the murderers, dashing out of the door, made their escape.

The Story of the Crime. Tho details of the affray, now that they aro fully known, are even more startling than was apparent from the first reports. It proves to l>e ono of the most sensational encounters between police and a gang of determined criminals that has taken place in recent years. It took place shortly after 11.30 on Friday mght in a narrow thoroughfare off Houndsditch. An attempt, preceded by long and careful preparation, to break into the premises of a Mr. H. Harris, goldsmith and 'silversmith, was being made by a party of "cracksmen," when a number of city policemen attached to tho Bishopsgate Police Station arrived on the scene, ana a desperate- encounter, ensued Iho burglars, whose number is not. definitely known, had taken care to be well prepared for any emergency. Armed witn revolvers, their surprise was no sooner effected than, turning on their prospective captors (three sergeants and two constables), they fired at them with terrible effect, nil the officers being hit. The scene of the encounter is an,offshoot of Cutler Street Much runs at right angles to Houndsditch) know n as Exchange Buildings, and consisting of a If^tfCdKWI 1 ™

The Shattered Window. • Some three weeks ago the m.-diatoly to the rear of Mr. Harris s shop was taken by a m ?V» Jw te£but little was known ot the new ten ants by their neighbours. It had been noticed =ihco their occupation that tho Bhutters'of'the lower room had not been taken "down, and sounds o knocking had. bPcn heard, buf these facts did not gne 'ri«o to any suspicion a'moug the other inhabitants .of Exchange Buildings. The. police, however, were possessed ot tuUer knowlcdgo as to. tho occupation ot the new-comers and the purpose lor which the. dwelling had been taken,; and it was as a result of the infoi'mation that at about 11.30' on Friday night bergeants .Tucker, Bentley, and Bryant, with Con.stables .CJioat..a.ij.(}, Wooijhanis, appeared ■on the sMiic. ,' ,".""• . ... ' , ' What then' happened is at present not definitely known, as all'the officers-con- ! cerned'nra either deatl or under, treatment in hospital. It is known, howover,: that the ."officere made an-attempt to effect an entrance and that they were'received with a revolver shot fired by a man mounted on the 'staircase. •■ One,.report is that each officer in turn, with great gallantry, attempted to enter, and was promptly shot down by two men standing at the head, of the! staircase and armed with revolvers. This story, however, is hardly.borne out- by, subsequent discoveries, inasmuch as the wounded • officers were found, not in the hmiss, but in 'different parts of,the street,, or,, as 'several residents in the building said, "all over the place," i.e., within.a sf,ice 'of twenty yards, representing the distance separating the tenement from Cutler' Street.. . . ■•■■■■■ . .

■ ■■ Many Shots in the Street. - ' The more probable theory is that the man' or men, rushing out of the house, fired-at'the'officers in turn as they encountered them in the .street. A' customer at the Cutlers', Arms public-house, situated .at the corner of Cutler Street and Exchange Buildings, stated that hearing shots he ran out, and found three officers lying on their faces on the ground in Exchange Buildings, and the. other two constables lying in Cutler. Street. It is generally agreed, that six shots were, heard by people ia the neighbourhood, .but, from the number and nature of the wounds of the injured men, it is obvious that several other ..shots must have been fired. The- wooden shutter of tiio house bears the mark of a bullet-hole, and the door of another.house has been perforated by a , bullet.. A young man who. lives in Exchnnge Buildings, when interviewed,' said: "At 11.30 p.m. I was in the Cutlers' Arms, and, hearing shots, I' rushed to the door, At first I was .under the impression that something had gone wrong with the mechanism, of a passing taxi-cab, but a friend who was with me remarked 'No, that's a shooter,' and ho proved to bo right. Tor I saw a sergeant shot. His assailant was a man about lift. 6in in height. Ho wore a blue Melton cloth overcoat and a bowler hat. He wore gaiters;, his appearance generally was dirty. Having fired the revolver ■he darted off before one had time ■ or opportunity to seize him. His back was towards me, so that I had no chance of seeing his face. I ran to the sergeant, lilted him up, and gave him brandy, after which he was conveyed, to the London Hospital." .

A man living-opposite to the tenement concerned stated: "At about 11.35 p.m. 1 was in my house when I heard shots fired. Looking from my upper window I saw a policeman tying, half in and half out, of the doorway opposite.' The door was wide open. Elsewhere three other officers were lying on tho ground. 1 shouted 'Murder,' whistles were biown, and then other policemen arrived on the scene." The Police Helpless. Tho little .band of police stood defenceless against the desperate onslaught. Every officer waj wounded. Tucker, who .had just completed twenty years' servico in the force and leaves a widow and several children, died on his way to hospital; Choat, a singlo man of-thirty-five, died ou Saturday morning; Bentley, who had five bullets taken from tho upper part of his body, died on Saturday night, his wifo being with him at the end. Woodhams was shot in the legs; Bryant was wounded in tho arm and chest. In tho terrible confusion the assailants escaped. A vivid story of the scene at this mqmont was given by some of the residents. Women streamed, rushing hither and thither; some fainted, and others in an agony of fear pulled at their hair. The street, which a few moments before had been all quiet, wus thronged with people. Police blew their whistles. Men ran in all directions. "It was like a, reign of terror!" exclaimed one woman. "It was terrible! It was shocking! I don't wish ever to experience another night like it. Constables shouted to us loudly to 'Get indoors.' I ran upstairs, snatched up, my Ixiby, and carried it to some friends across the road." Another said: "It was like pandemonium in the street. There is a largo alien population in tho neighbourhood, and many of tho people became terribly excited, beating their breasts with their hands and exclaiming 'Mein Gott!'" Noises that Led tho Police to the Houso. Mr. S. Cohen, of S. Cohen and Com? paiiy, Cutlor Street, 6aid that he occu>

pied No. 11 Exchange Buildings, up till about three weeks ago. Hβ had the place for storing 'second-hand clothing for. some years. Millard anil Company, the landlord:-, let the house, 11 Exchange liuildint!-:, to a couple, who informed them that they were about to get married. JMora this, Mr. Cohen stated, two men residing at No. 10 Exchange Buildings, recommended the. couple for the rooms at No. 11. During tne last three or four nights Mr. Isejistein, a fancy toy dealer, whoso shop is next door to Harris's (the jewellers), complained to tho police of. certain noises he had. heard. A police sergeant: went round on Friday night and wanted to know what tho knocking going ou meant. According to Mr. Coheh,-the reply-to-the officer'squestion was, "Oh,, nothing.' Ifs all. right. We aregoing to bed now. Good night." The noise did not cease,' and about 11 o'clock Sergeant Tucker went round to No. 11 Exchange Buildings, accompanied by, other officers, knocked at the door, and said, "I think there are burglars at the back. I want to come in." The man in tho house.said, "Oh, there are no burglars here. You cannot come in," and a constable turned round and said, "Wβ are coming in to see if there is anybody in here."

Mr. Cohen went on to say that the people in the neighbourhood were afterwards alarmed by reports which went "bangbang," the police officers being all shot down. He stated that the police found in the house a collection of burglars' tools and enough dynamite to blow up all Houndsditch, together with a 'number of blow-pipes. The burglars, he stated, must have made a mistake, for instead of boring into Harris's shop they bored into Isenstein's shop They dug a.large hole underneath lEeustein's m as to gain admittance. 'In the pit blow-pipes were found. The occupants of No. 11 were very seldom seen during the day or evening; they generally took two shutters off the window instead of the three. When the woman entered the .nous's in the daytime her face was never visible to the neighbours. "1 have great doubts as to whether it was a woman. I think it was a man disguised." v

An Eye-witness's Evidence, At the inquest on the body of Sergeant Robert Beritley, Police-Constable James Martin, plain-clothes officer* gave evidence as to what happened when tho police at-, tempted to enter the house in which the criminals were at work. . He saiu-. I am attached to tho Bishopsgate Street Station. Shortly after, 11 p.m. on Friday I was on duty with Police-constable Strongman, when we met Sergeant Bentley. He said: "There's a noise at the back of Mr. Harris's shop" (a small jeweller's shop.) He said to Strongman: "Will you go to the police station and ask tho inspector to telephone to Mr. Harris, and ask him to . come with the keys, as.there is something wrong?" He said: "Yoii come with me, Martin." We went together to Exchange Buildings, at the rear of the premises off. Cutler Street. He asked: "Which do you think is the nearest'way to the back of the ■ jeweller's?" I told him what I thought was ,tho nearest way, but after we had gone a few yards, deceased said: "I don't think it is quite so; far, down. ■ We will go round to the front." Wo went roiind to the front, where we , met Sergeant Tucker, Sergeant Bryant, and Police-con-stable Strongman, who had returned from the station. We then went to Exchange Buildings, five of us, and also Police-' constable.Waodhams, one of:the wounded men. Sergeant Bentlpy went to No. 11 Exchange Buildings and knocked at the door. ,

..;'■■ The Assassin, ■• ' ■ .The Coroner—Who opened it? . Witness—lt was opened by the assassin whose body'is at tlie mortuary at' the London Hospital, and whose name is given as. Gardstein or Bernstein. Witness, proceeding—Sergeant Bentley said:—"Have you been working here, or knocking about inside?" The man inside made no answer. Sergjaut Bentleyjhen said:—"Do you ■ understand English? If you don't, speak it, have you anyone in the house who does? If so, fetch them up." The man inside then closed the door to about an. inch opening; and apparently went towards the stairs. The you hear him? Witness—Yes, I Jieard him leave, and go not go into the room. Sergeant Bentley then : pushed the door open, and stood just inside. He was standing there for a few moments, when somebody.-rushed from the back pi the house from a door, on the ground floor. I saw; a hand thrust,forward/- : Was it a man's or a woman's?—lt,was a man's. Af the same time there .was a report from a revolver, with -a-flash-cf fire. land Sergeant Bryant .rushed to the door, and at the same time a _riasn of light.came from oft the stairs. : .Upon that Sergeant Bentley fell backwards into the doorway, on No. 11.. -\ _ ' ' How were you getting on ?—I was standing back on tho kerb. • „ .. Were you armed with a revolver?—A o; I had only just an ordinary-truncheon,, which is made of hard wood. It was in The hand, with the revolver tired up/the street in the direction of Cutler Street, and then the hand turned —- ■.. The Coroner (ittterposing)-:Wheve was the hand? ' ■'. • , Just in the:,door. I could not see a man. It was a man's hand, judging from How o many times'did he fire?-Throe times ill quick succession, like this. (.The witness here clapped his hands three times rapidly, by way of illustration.) It was like a Mnxim. gun. ■ : ' Witness, continuing-As he turned his hand round, I turned round sharp, and in turning I fell. ' ..■ .. •AVhv did you fall? \ou were not wounded.—No, I was turning round, and stumbled in sonic way, but I could not exactly say how.

'.•'.' After the Shooting. What about Sergeant Bryant? Did you sco him.when you got upP-T.es, I saw him standing up against the wall. Ho had been' wounded. He was bleeding from the hand. ~ What about 'your other comrades? AVhere were they?-Whcn I went up the street I saw one officer lying in the roadway, P. C. Woodhanis. He was a little further up than No. 11. ■ _ AVheie was Bentley at this time?—Hd was lying back where he fell, with his head just resting on the footpath. I do not think he rose after he first fell.. Where was Choate?—He was lying on' the footway, very nearly in Cutler Street. He had been wounded, but I did not Know that at the time. What did you do?—I went to the assistance of . Sergeant Bentley, who had his legs in the doorway, with his head in the footway. Meanwhile had anyone como out or the house?—l did not see anyone come out. You say you went up to Bentley ?—Yes, and with'another-officer.put him on the footpath. I undid his jacket and shirt, and found that ho had, a nasty wound on the right side of the' neck. A Juryman—Was there time for anyone to come out" of the house when you had your back to the- door—lt was the only time they could have como out. 'V Juryman—Were you on the. ground long enough for two. or throe people to ! come-out of the house ?~I just fell down, and then looked round and saw the other officers on , the ground, and I could not see anv one-else in the street. • \nother Juryman—Did yo\i see a hand or a pistol ?—I saw both. ' , . , •V Juryniah—Could the man who fired the pistol see the officers in the doorway? —Ho could distinctly see the sergeant, who was in the doorway. The others were on the footway.