Extraordinary Shooting Accidents.

Evening Star, Issue 6979, 13 August 1885, Page 3

Extraordinary Shooting Accidents.

A fatal accident occurred at the rifle butts, North Williamstown, at a quarter to 3 p.m., the victim being Charles Thompson. Thompson was an experienced marker, and was generally considered a most careful and trustworthy man ; but he appears to have acted with recklessness on the occasion of the accident. Sergeant Porter, caretaker at the ranges, told off three markers for targets Nos. 13, 14, and 15. Squads from the B Company, Carlton Rifles, under the command of Captain Geddes, commenced firing from the 400-yards range, at targets Nos. 13 and 15. Thompson was to mark at No. 14, but the detachment of rifles ordered for practice at that target had not arrived, and he sat on the mound in front of his martlet, and within about 2ft of the line of fire to No. 14 target. The edge of the mound upon which he sat was twenty-one yards from No. 13 target and twenty-three yards from No. 15 target. The riflemen firing at No. 13 were under Lieutenant Burbank. When the ninth shot had been fired by this detachment Marker Halford, who came from his martlet to signal a miss, saw Thompson fall to the ground, and on going over found that he had been shot through the body. The bullet entered the abdomen, penetrated the bowels, and came out at the back, close to the vertebra;. On examining No. 14 target a fresh bullet mark was found thereor, and the impression is believed to have been made by the bullet which passed through the marker's body. Thompson was taken to the Melbourne Hospital, but died there next morning. He was between thirty and forty years of age. A melancholy occurrence took place at the Alexandra (Victoria) Rifle Club's ranges about five o'clock on the evening of August 1, when A. Johnstone and W. Lade, jun., both members of the Club, were practising at the b«tts, the former acting as marker. Instead of providing himself with the usual flags, he used his hat to indicate the character of the shots, it being agreed that he was to mark every shot before Lade continued firing. As Lade's eyesight was not good, he did not notice Johnstone's signals for the earlier shots, aud waited for a call to proceed. After the Bixth shot Lade thought he saw Johnstone retire, and fired his seventh, but, as it afterwards proved, he was only coming out to mark the shot. Lade, hearing dreadful screams from the direction of the target, walked up to it, and found Johnston lying in front of it in dreadful agony, shot through the thigh. The bullet had entered near the joint of the right thigh, and, having passed completely round the back, had lodged close under the skin some distance below the left thigh.— * Argus.' ________________