TELEGRAMS.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LIII, Issue 9434, 5 September 1907, Page 5

TELEGRAMS.

THE SHOOTING SENSATION A FULLER ACCOUNT. BOTH LIVES IN DANGER. INVERCARGILL, September 3. Shortly after 11 o'clock on Tuesday evening a shocking scene took place at Nightcaps, In which Henry Bteid, a miner about 22 years of age, was the principal participant. Mia is a Tasmanian, and came to live at Nightcaps seven or eight months ago. He lodged with Mrs Gibbon nearly the whole of that period, and it seems that he fetf in love with Miss Lydia. Gibbon, 22 yairs of age,- She^ aowevor, did not encourage his attentions, being engaged to another, a, flaxmiller in tlhe district* About a month previous to Tuesday night's occurrence sine told Reid finally bx>w she was. placed, and that she could not and would not have anything to do witih him. Jealousy appears io have been working tii>l last nighty when Reid could contain him&elf no longer. He .had been working in the mine till 8 o'clock, when he came home, dressed, and went to receive his' pay at about 0 o'clock, and returned at 10 o'clock. Ono of Miss Gibbon's sisters, aged about 14, gave him supper, and a few minutes later Lydia hetrself came in. Her sister retired, ■■'caving the two alone, the rest [ of the family being in bed. The only sound audible in the house was the quiet talking of the man and the girl m the kitchen. Not long after 11 o'clock, F. Gibbon, who is a carpenter, was startled by hearing two shots fired in quick succession, and another, apparently muffled, a few minutes later. At first it did not strike him that the sound was from a firearm., and he <$>nI eluded it was the banging of a door. ! Presently, however, he heard groans, and rose to find out the cause, but, hearing nothing more, returned to his Toom. thinking that the groans cam© from some of the younger members of the family who were suffering from whooping cough. It was not until J. Foster, a miner who slept in tbe adjoining room, awoke him that he became alarmed. J Foster cried, "Whatever is the mat- J ter ?" and both men got up without delay, j There were Eghts buwiing in both, tiie ; dining room and kftcben, and on opening : the door leading outside fiom thie kitchen | they stumV-ed across the prostrate body j of Miss Gibbon lying in a pool of blood. The two men carried the girl into the house, ;<.nd Dr Baird and the police w«re [ at once summoned. The young woman's face was blackened with the smoke from the powder, and a bullet wound was seen just over her right eye. She was quite unconscious. About a chain away from the house, in an adjoining section, is a well about 25ft deep, holding four or five feet of water. Here Gibbon was found groaning and clutching the rope. Gibbon wont down the rope, and the swooning man was haul, ed up He was all but unconscious, having shot hiimself through xhs_ palate. This morning toth suffereirs were taken to Riveirton Hospital. The doctor reports that both cases a.re very serious R°id is shot thiough the palate, and the bullet has lodged in an "inacsceeßible place at tho base of tho brain. The condition of Miss Gibbon is, if anything, .-nc-re serious. She is also shot in ihe thigh. The doctor holds out lifcblp hop& of re- ' covery in either case. | So far neither has been able to speak. A packet of .strychnine purchased from an Invercargill chemist was found in one of Reid's pockets. Miss Gibbon was at one time an atttendant at Seacliff Asylum.