CHINAMAN RUNS AMUCK.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 16465, 18 June 1919, Page 7

CHINAMAN RUNS AMUCK.

SIEGE IN SMALL COTTAGE. FIGHT THROUGHTOUT NIGHT. SYDNEY, June 3. A Chinaman, said to have gone mad because he lost the white girl with whom he had been living, ran amuck on Sunday evening. He attacked a Chinese Mission Church first of allthrowing in smoke boxes and shooting the congregation as they rushed outthen he stood in the street and fired, wildly at a fire brigade as it dashed up to put out the supposed fire; and then, shooting as he went, he fled to his tworoomed hub in a nearby slum lane. He barricaded himself in, and kept the army of police at bay all night, and was finally rushed a..., shot at 9.30 on Monday morning by a courageous American from Arizona. It was an extraordinary incident, with a most dramatic finish. Altogether, 17 persons were shot, one seriously. All night and up to ton o’clock in the morning an enormous crowd l surrounded the church and the building in which the Chinaman took refuge. So great were their numbers, in tact, that the police and firemen were considerably hampered in their movements. All this time shots were being fired in the direction of the hunted man, who had barricaded himself in a dilapidated shed, where, he kept up a constant fire upon the police and crowd. ATTACK WITH FIRE HOSES. When it was found that it was impossible to bring the Chinaman down tlie firebrigade played several lines of hose on to the building, and in this way they managed to knock down portion of the partition which sheltered him. Even then the hunted man kept on firing and, as he could not be seen, it was decided to endeavour to flood him out. It was during these operations that two of the firemen were shot in the laneway. While the shooting was in progress most exciting experiences befell many people. About midnight a pony galloped down Campbell Street, heading into the crowd, and it was thought that the Chinese had managed to get away through a lane and was coming towards the crowd. Somebody yelled that he was out, and there was a rush for cover, but the man was still sheltered. A little later a searchlight was flashed on the place where he was hiding, and directly its rays lit up the locality more shots came from the demented man. But no one was .injured by this fusillade. Hurried consultations as to the best way to tackle the madman without unnecessary risk were held, hut as the exact spot where he was hiding was not ascertainable at the moment it required some judgment to anticipate his quick changes of position. Just about a quarter to ten in the morning a returned soldier named Albert H. Ryan, and two of the police, noticing that a portion of the building was in a shaky condition, put their shoulders to it and it fell.

Ryan is an Arizonian, who has seen many stirring scenes in his own country and on active service.

“Give me a gun,” shouted the Arizonian to Superintendent Walker, “I’ve done this in Arizona.” “It’s a. dangerous thing to do,” replied the inspector. “Hint’s all right. I’m good with a gun,” replied Ryan;

He was given the revolver, and he sprang for the window of the room. Constable W. Smith and Detective Leary covered. the window and made ready to follow, and Superintendent Walker also hurst his burly body through. Ryan and the police were met by two shots from the Chinaman, hut the bullets missed their, objective, and Ryan’s first shot hit the madman in the jaw and crashed upwards through the brain. Leo King, or Lee Sun, was the name of the mad Cliinamae, who finished his career with a great adventure. , Ho is described as a cabinetmaker, and' is said to have been of a peculiar disposition.

THOUSANDS OF ONLOOKERS.

The scene late in the morning almost beggared description. All night long hundreds of people clung to the approaches of the Little Campbell Street fastness. They could not be kept away. The whole neighbourhood refused to go to bed. On verandahs and balconies men, women;and children kept steady vigil. From seven o’clock the crowds began to augment. Lorries, carts, barrows, motor-cars, and vehicles of all sorts blocked the main thoroughfare, and when at about a quarter to ten the madman was eventually overcome thousands of curious people had gathered on the spot. The water and mud at the entrance to East Street—a narrow opening off Campbell Street —might have conveyed the impression that a great firo had been in progress. For hours the fire brigade had been pouring tons of water into the frail wooden cottage where the madman was defying the world. A few yards down East Street a lane five or six feet wide opens to the right, and half-way down this lane stands the Chinaman’s house on the left-hand side, with raised steps, giving it a command of the approaches on either hand.

Thousands during the morning passed down this narrow alley running with water and mud to visit the scenes of the capture. The city planning genius of man could scarcely have provided, a more secure retreat for a maniac running amuck.