"DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS LOADED."

NZ Truth, Issue 57, 21 July 1906, Page 4

"DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS LOADED."

A young Timaru lady, whose name needn't be specified, was shot m the hip one night recently while walking but with her "chap." ' And. it was the "chap" who shot her-, quite inadvertently it would seem. The galoot, whose moniker is Garnet Warring, found that conversation was flagging, and m order to create a -diversion and turn talk into a new channel, he produced a pistol from his pocket, and was demonstrating its usefulness, and showing its paces, when the darned machine went off. He is one of those unspeakable, unpardonable fools of which the world . contains so many, who ' 'didn't know •it was loaded. ' ' That ancient excuse is always thrust forward m most shooting accident cases, and demonstrates that such, people should never be trusted with firearms, or |be allowed to even look into a window where any are exposed for sale. They are asses of the first water. The young lady.had,to be medically attended, of course, but it was lucky she received the bullet m the hip instead of the head. Warring.'s statement was that he had used the weapon for exterminating rodents the night previous, and after he had created a shambles by slaughtering some, he .placed it m his overcoat, and got fooling with it next evening, qjoite forgetting the fact that it was loaded." He was police-courted over_ the firing business, and >Vas let off with a fine of half a soy., the pistol being confiscated. Warring should consider himself lucky that he hasn't to stand his trial for manslaughter.