OUTRAGE AT AUCKLAND

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIV, Issue 93, 3 April 1934, Page 8

OUTRAGE AT AUCKLAND

Garage Attendant Wounded TWO MASKED MEN WITH GUN By Telegraph—Press Association. AUCKLAND, April 1. A masked man shot the night attend, ant at Mr W. S. Miller’s garage in Khyber Pass about 3.30 o’clock this morning, while his companion, also masked, rifled a till of about £25. The two men escaped in a motor car and had not been traced late this afternoon. I'he victim of the outrage, Mr Bernard Walter de Laurier, aged 22, was shot in the upper part of the right arm. He was not injured seriously, and was able to leave hospital after receiving treatment. The affair had evidently been carefully planned. Mr de Laurier, who was on duty by himself, was sweeping out the garage at about 3.30 a.m. when a motor car drove in. Two masked men alighted and before Mr de Laurier could defend himself the taller of the two threw him to the ground, bound his legs and gagged him. The shorter man was carrying a .22 light sporting rifle. With this he covered the pros trate man.

The talle of the two men ordered Mr de Laurier to roll over, and he attempted to move so as to bring the taller man between himself and the man with the rifle. Before he could accomplish his purpose, however, the shorter man evidently guessed his intention as he took deliberate aim and fired, the bullet passing through the attendant’s right arm. The attendant was then roughly rolled over so that he lay face downward and his wrists were bound tightly behind his back. He was lying in such a position that cars parked in the garage screened him from the view of anyone passing. Leaving their victim, the two men rifled the till of its entire contents and made off in tlicir car.

Barely a minute after the car had left the garage another machine entered. The driver sounded his horn several times to attract the attendant, not knowing that Mr de Laurier was lying wounded and gagged only a few feet away, and failing to rouse anybody, lie drove off. It was not until nearly 4 o'clock that another hiember of the garage staff, who had been to a cabaret, called at the garage on his way home. He immediately missed the attendant and commenced a search of the premises. The wounded man was located lying near the office door. Re was promptly unbound and told his story.