FATAL DUEL IN BANK

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 73, Issue 449, 15 December 1930, Page 9

FATAL DUEL IN BANK

BANDIT SHOT BY TELLER AMERICAN CRIME METHODS EXCHANGE OF REVOLVER SHOTS OFFICIAL WOUNDED IN FACE SYDNEY, Nov. 24. According to all accounts purely American methods were used by the three bandits who raided the Alexandria branch of the English, Scottish and Australian Bank on Friday last. That they failed to make a big haul of the thousands that were in the bank for pay day in this big industrial suburb, was due to the bravery of the young teller, Mr H. C. Hodgkinson. In true Chicago style Patrick Coughlan, the bandit who received fatal injuries, did not give the usual order for “Hands up” before he fired at the teller. Three men went to the bank shortly after 11 o’clock in a taxi-cab. The taxi remained some distance from the entrance to the bank and the men alighted. Coughlan was the only man to enter the bank. The teller at the time was counting the cash and there was no one else behind the counter. Just after Coughlan made his appearance the telephone rang. The teller turned to answer it, and as he did so Coughlan fired the shot from a small revolver

The teller received a serious wound in the jaw and blood began to pour down his clothes. He grasped the counter and although he was suffering terrible pain his hand went quickly to his hip pocket and he drew a revolver. With a sudden move that seemed to surprise the bandit he raised the revolver and fired point-blank at the intruder, inflicting a fatal wound. Bandit Staggers to the Tan Coughlan then staggered out of the building and was taken in charge by his two comrades who were waiting, not for this, but for the money which they expected to be the reward of Coughlan’s daring. The teller’s aim had been sure, for as he reached his comrades Coughlan collapsed and had to be carried along. He was taken to the taxicab. “His head was sagging,” said an eye-witness of this portion of the occurrence “He had a nickel revolver in his hand, and 1 thought ho was going to fall at any moment. When he reached the taxi he fell forward as he tried to enter. The other men then helped him in and the car was driven away at a great pace.” Despite his severe injuries Mr Hodgkinson insisted on informing the head office of his bank before he would leave the premises. He said he was determined to see another man in charge before he would go to hospital. However, he was bleeding profusely and it was realised that he would not live long unless he received immediate treatment. So the police took charge of the bank. In the meantime word of the “hold up” had been sent to the police head-quarters, and the police patrols were soon on the scene. Then followed an intense search for the taxi-cab, the number of which had been noted. By-streets in all the suburbs were searched without result. Then., an hour and a-half after the “hold-up” the var was sighted by the police alongside some scrub in the outer suburb of Maroubra. Close by Coughlan was found dead. By that time the taxi had disappeared and the frantic search for it was continued. Mishap to Policeman’s Revolver Tho patrols moved along every street and finally, in another suburb, Sergeant Frost saw the wanted car pulled up on the side of a road. What followed was even more amazing than what had preceded. As soon as he appeared on the scene Sergeant Frost saw two men hurriedly leave tho car. Calling on the other police who were with him he gave chase. The men were fleet of foot, and after they had gone 100 yards or so tho sergeant called on the men to stop, failing which he would fire. • Both men then swung round with revolvers levelled. For some reason they did not fire. Sergeant Frost, however, pulled the trigger of his revolver, but the weapon jammed. Sergeant Frost cannot understand why the men he was chasing did not fire, and he thinks that something must have happened to their revolvers, too. “I would have got them both if my pistol had been in order,” he said later. “But I am sure they would have got me if they could have fired.” The chase after the men continued for sometime, but without success.

Tho police say that they know at least one of the bandits. They have been con: iderably hampered in their inquiries by the fact that Coughlan was not known to them as a criminal. Hia body haa remained unclaimed at

the city morgue ever since the tragedy, and to-day he was buried by the State as a pauper. llis haunts were not known, and although the police have combed the underworld they have not been successful in discovering anyone who knew him. The taller of the two desperadoes was seen on Saturday afternoon and 40 detectives and police were engaged in a chase which led them through an old city junk yard, where the fugitive had evidently been in hiding. The man’s amazing agility, however, permitted him to escape. Detectives’ Fruitless Search It was during the progress of an intensive search that several detectives became aware that one of the elusive criminals was in hiding in the junk yard. They rushed the place and found themselves confronted with all sorts of obstacles. The man had certainly chosen his hiding place carefully. At the front there was a high concrete wall, whose only apertures—a double door, a small door, and two windows — arc amply protected against intruders. Inside there is a remarkable collection of rubbish. Although the place was surrounded the man made good his escape and has not sin»ce been seen. The second bandit, who is still at large, is a short, nuggety fellow and he has been “in smoke” since the day of the “hold-up.” The detectivea say that they are bound to find the tall man in the course of a few days. They are well armed, for they know the nature of the man they are seeking and, moreover, their revolvers have been carefully examined and pronounced to be in good order. Since Friday many of the detectives have had no sleep. They spend nearly all their time in the underworld and they have found some people quaking with the fear of arrest. Evidently they have not a clear conscience. Mr Hodgkinson Commended. Mr Hodgkinson, the bank teller, whose age is 24, is progressing favourably in a private hospital. His bravery and devotion to duty in giving the alarm, although he was badly injured, were commended by the Commissioner of Police, Mr Childs, who congratulated the manager of the bank on having such an officer on his staff. “Although it was apparent that the robber intended to kill him without quarter, the teller made no attempt to avoid him,” said Mr Childs. “Hie bravery in intercepting his armed atta’eker, in spite of his wounds, set an example to all men in similar positions. Even when he had driven the robbers away he telephoned the police and his office first, without thinking of his severe wound.”