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 DETECTIVE
SHOOTS ASSAILANT THROUGH BODY IN RUNNING GUN BATTLE---A DELIBERATE PLOT---ARRESTS
EXPECTED
Ambushed by a hired gunmen as he was entering his residence on Green
Street, this borough about 2:00 o’clock last Friday morning. Jack
Allison, popular McKean count detective escaped death by a hairs width
when a bullet almost grazed his head and turning and advancing in the
face of a spray of bullets from the would-be assassins revolver, all
the while trying to extricate his own weapon which was wrapped in a
detached holster and belt in his hip pocket. The courageous officer
gave chase to the assailant and finally brought his revolver into action
and emptied the weapon on the dead run, one bullet finding its mark
in the fiend’s worthless body.
Somewhere in McKean County lays a very sick Italian gunman with a bullet-bored
hole through his body.
The local officer has discovered the Identity of the gunman; the town
he came from is another part of Pennsylvania and he name of the McKean
county Italian who hired him to carry out the attempted murder.
Police in all cities of this section of the United States are in possession
of descriptions of the would-be killer and his employer, both of whom
are missing and their arrests are expected at any time.
The escape of the fearless local officer from the cowardly attack was
nothing short of providential.
Mr. Allison returning late from a trip to Bradford had driven his automobile
to the Smethport Garage and Harry Herzog, night man at the establishment,
volunteered to drive him home.
Starting the steep ascent of Franklin Street, towards Mr. Allison’s
residence, the car was unable to climb the upper most of the road near
the Green Street intersection due to the icy condition of the thoroughfare.
Mr. Allison alighted and walked the short distance to his home at the
corner of Green and Franklin streets.
The gunmen, hidden behind a tree in front of the house, was within eight
feet of the sidewalk along which Mr. Allison passed, it unquestionably
being his original attention to shoot the local officer at close range.
As it developed the fellow was almost directly in the beam of light
from the automobile Mr. Herzog was backing down the hill and had to
wait until the car was well down the hill.
This gave Mr. Allison a chance to mount the high steps of the front
lawn and reach the steps of the veranda before the gunman dared to cut
loose.
Just as the county detective reached for the door of the class enclosure
of the porch a bullet passed within a inch of his head, crashed into
the wooden part of the door and passed out through a panel of glass
of the enclosed porch.
Mr. Allison turned and started towards the gunman, who was about 30
feet away and the fellow backing away fired 5 more shots at the advancing
officer, all of which went wild, turned and ran with Allison tugging
at his awkwardly placed gun, in pursuit.
When the county detective finally succeeded in extricating his weapon,
the gunmen had considerably increased his lead.
The fellow ran one block down Union Street one block to King Street
and down that street one block to Mechanic Street and down that street
to the Legion Theater building, with Mr. Allison firing bullets after
him.
Mr. Allison’s last shot, fire on King Street, found its mark and
the fellow fell and floundered, but quickly regained his feet and disappeared
around the rear of the Lyceum building, where the officer lost the trail.
Somewhere in town a Cadillac automobile wearing New York plates and
containing two other men was parked with engine running smoothly and
the wounded gunmen succeeded in reaching it and was whisked away.
Mr. Allison immediately notified police of nearby cities and towns to
head off all automobiles and started out in his own car, accompanied
by his son, deputy county detective Halsey Allison, in pursuit.
It has since been learned that the assassin’s car approached Bradford
and the driver, beholding Bradford police on station at the city line,
turned and fled, a taxicab driver meeting the car traveling at terrific
speed a short distance this side of Bradford. It is thought the Cadillac
turned off on the Dallas road and proceeded over the mountains to Rixford
and on to Eldred and thence over the New York state line.
A telltale trail o blood in the snow on Mechanic Street discovered Friday
morning revealed that the gunman had been badly wounded.
The supposition was verified during the course of Mr. Allison’s
investigation during the weekend when he learned the identity of his
assailants and received a tip that the fugitive had been shot through
the back, the bullet passing entirely through the body. The fellow is
being given friendly shelter somewhere in this section, either recovering
or flirting with death ---- the later being the general hope.
The town and entire county were greatly aroused by the murder attempt
on the local officer and much speculation was rife to the underlying
motive.
Allison has waged a relentless, courageous campaign against criminals
f this section but has always held the admiration and respect not only
of law abiding people, but of most of the ones he has arrested, because
he is a fine fellow and a square dealer, even to the ones whom duty
compels him to arrest and it can be safely said that even law transgressors
are his friends.
It develops that following the arrest of Frank Ferias of Bradford and
Thomas DelGoldice of Limestone who were acquitted of the vendetta murder
of Joseph Scutella of Olean at their trial in Little Valley, N.Y., two
weeks ago, Mr. Allison rendered assistance to the Cattaraugus county,
N.Y. authorities in line with his local official duties, in gathering
evidence in that case, the Scutella slaying being the last of a series
of Italian vendetta killings which have alternated back and forth across
the nearby New York state line during the past three years.
Mr. Allison visited the western penitentiary, Pittsburgh some time ago,
and secured evidence bearing out the Scutella case from prisoners confined
there.
Incidentally he received information, which definitely linked on Italian
resident of a McKean County town, a man bearing a most unsavory reputation,
but had always cleverly escaped arrest in some of the murders.
This desperado, in some manner learned of the knowledge of his record
Mr. Allison quietly possessed and hired a gunman from a Pennsylvania
town, some distance removed to put the local officer out of the way.
Mr. Allison immediately suspected all this and has since been verified
to the letter by his investigation following the murder attempt. The
man back of the plot immediately disappeared, but clues are possessed
of his whereabouts.
The murder plot was carefully worked out. A vigil was kept at the Allison
residence for several nights.
The first alarm came one night recently when a pedigreed German police
Shepard belonging to Haley Allison raise a violent disturbance which
brought members of the family down stairs. No signs were found of anybody
around he home and it was thought that the dogs action were simply the
result of nervousness.
However, a day or so later, the person who was scared away by the police
dog’s disturbance placed strychnine-poisoned meat on the grounds
of the Allison hole and a hunting dog belonging to Pierre Allison, the
county detectives youngest son, was poisoned and had to be killed.
A night or two later a ring came at he door of the residence and a member
of the family responded in time to see a man running away.
Believing he had killed the family watchdog, instead of killing the
hunting dog and secure in the knowledge that he had the right house
marked, the assassin came to Smethport Thursday night and established
the death ambush for the detective. Footprints in the snow about the
Allison’s residence Friday morning indicated that the gunman had
kept a long vigil and had walked about the house for several times,
peering into windows. Unfortunately the police dog was chained in a
lawn some distance from the house that night.
When Mr. Allison drove into the Smethport garage early Friday morning
he unstrapped the revolver holster from his body wrapped it up in the
belt, and placed it in his hip pocket before starting for home.
Had the revolver been in its accustomed place there would have been
a dead gunman as Mr. Allison is a crack shot with the pistol.
Haley Allison, sleeping in an upstairs bedroom was aroused by the shots
and came to a front window with a gun, but did not dare shoot, as he
could not distinguish his father from the assailant.
Mr. Allison and his son proceeded to Bradford following the shooting
until as a result of the police dragnet thrown out for the gunman a
car containing a party of Italians was overhauled and John Santana,
one of the occupants, arrested as a suspect when a revolver and a knife
were found on his person. The suspect was later released after paying
a fine of $100 for carrying deadly weapons.
Police of various cities are actively cooperating with Mr. Allison,
who is extremely popular and widely known.
The local officer gained nation wide fame last summer when he flew in
an airplane to Harrisburg and Albany N. Y. to secure extradition papers
for an important prisoner when time allowance was too short to permit
use of railroads.
MAY BE IN NIAGRA FALLS
Police of Niagara falls N.Y. are confident that the wounded gunman is
from that city and is at present in Niagara falls in hiding treating
his wounds.
Officers of the cataract city are confident that the detection of he
wounded man will bring about the arrests of the leaders of a powerful
liquor smuggling ring which has been trying to intimidate customs men
police and prohibition enforcement agents by a serious of bombings and
shootings which have taken a cruel toll of lives among officers along
the boarder.
Niagara Falls officials believe that Allison's vice ********* efforts
in McKean county and the valuable assistance the local detective who
can speak Italian as fluently as native has rendered police of Buffalo
and other cities has caused him to be marked for death by the vicious
Niagara falls ring.
Mr. Allison has been expecting an attack on his life for some time.
Over a year ago a mysterious shot was fired through an automobile exactly
like Mr. Allison's car at that time, owned by a local resident who was
driving along a county highway.
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