BATTLE WITH BANDITS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20623, 23 July 1930, Page 11

BATTLE WITH BANDITS.

ROBBERS ESCAPE WITH £750.

POLICE USE MACHINE-GUN.

MANY PERSONS WOUNDED. Tho main street of Leipzig, where thousands of foreign business men, including many hundreds from Great Britain, recently assembled for the great international fair and exhibition, was the sceno at noon on June 11 of a dramatic chase of armed bandits by police and fire brigades in motor-cars. Tho bandils, who had shot down and robbed a bank messenger of his bap containing £750 in cash, kept up a running fire from their revolvers, injuring two of their pursuers. Finally. after their own high-powered racing motor-car had been disabled by the machine-gun shots of the, police, they succeeded in escaping in u traincar with their booty. Lor the time being the Leipzig police lost all trace of tho bandits, but extensive cordons were, formed in tho surrounding districts and the Berlin police were called in to cooperate. The attack on the bank messenger, which took place in a crowded place in the centre of the, city, was witnessed by hundreds of people. Three Masked Men.

Ilerr Goldackcr, (he messenger, had just left his bank and was walking down the street when a brown sports model motor-car suddenly drew up opposite him. Three masked men jumped out and, pointing their revolvers at him, cried: " Hands up 1

Before Goldacker could comply with their demand, however, each of the three men fired at him, hitting him in the body and leg. 110 fell, and from his prostrate figure (lie bandits snatched the bag. jumped into their motor-car, and dashed off.

All the motor vehicles in the street at once joined in pursuit of the bandits. Other motor-cars going in the opposite direction tried to slop them. Hie bandits' motor-car, however, which \v;is subsequently found to have been stolen from the Marquis dc Feronda, tho secretary of the Spanish Embassy in Berlin, was too quick for them, and, dashing skilfully in and out of the motor-cars and carts which tried to block their way, the bandits .succeeded in escaping. r A passing ambulance waggon of the .no brigade took up the chase. The bandits, however, when the ambulance got perilously close to them, opened fire on it. and 'after hitting the car 15 limes, injured one of the occupants and succeeded m puncturing the radiator, so that the ambulance was unable to proceed.^ A group of labourers at. work in one of the streets next tried to hold up the gunmen with a hastily constructed bairieade. Tho robbers, however, tired on the workmen, one of whom they injured seriously, and without reducing their speed dashed, through the barricade, which tliev wrecked.

Police Car With Machine-gun. The police motor-car now joined the chase and with a machine-gun opened lire on the bandits' car, which in turn was soon disabled and brought to a standstill. The gunmen, however, succeeded in jumping on to a passing trame.ar. of which they immediately took command. One of'the bandits pointed his pistol

at the head of the driver of the frarocar and look his place at the. controls, driving the car at, a frenzied speed through the streets, while (lie other two bandits held up the conductor and passengeis wit!) their pistols. When the police motor-car, which had been bacllv delayed through a collision with the bandits' wrecked motor-car, at last, caught up with the trainear, the bandits were no longer on it. They had tied up the driver and conductor and. leaving the tramear with its terrified load i f passengers, to career driverless through the streets, jumped off attd made their escape.