WAIKINO TRAGEDY.

Hokitika Guardian, 29 October 1923, Page 4

WAIKINO TRAGEDY.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS. .JUST BEFORE THE SHOOTING. 111 a .statement made by Miss Ida May Bell, one of the lady teachers at the Waikiuo school. describing the scene when Higgins entered school, she says: “As I was attending to class work outside, with ih ( > children in from of the study window, I heard Mr Reid say to someone inside the study 'take a seat.’ I heard some talking between Air Reid and some other person in the study. I heal'd -Mr Reid say. ‘Well, if you are going to take the law into your own hands,’ and I did not listen to any more of the conversation. I took the children into the shelter shed underneath the hack of the school, and sent one of the boys to see what time it was. He returned ami told me it was 10 n.lll. I then went into the infants’ room, on the right hand side of the corridor, from the back entrance. A few minutes later, while 1 Wits in the room I heard a shot fired in tlie study. •JUST LOOK AT THE INFANTS. “1 then «hiked ini o the corridor, in the direction of standards two, three and four classrooms,” added .Miss Bell, ‘•anil whilst doing so f saw a man toming out of the study with a revolver in his hand, lie walked past me with Ihe revolver uplifted in his hand, and ' walked into the infants’ room. I informed Miss Graham that the:e was a man with a gun, and about live scci mb. Inter the man came into the room with the revolver in his hand anil bred shoU. 1 don't know who he lired at. We got behind a ftiplituirtl. All the children stampeded ami we all rushed out Ito the playground. When passing the study window T saw .Mr Reiel, "ho wav etl to us to get ti'-vny. Al the sane time Higgins was coming down the front steps facing the detection we were going.” Higgins apparently went round io the front of the building at this point THE SHOOTING OF Alt LEAN. Describing the- shooling of the buy Alt-Lean (deceased) another boy, Richard Fitch, aged 1-1. states: “Higgins tired I lie first shot in ntir room rio.-e to the (loo!'. He then V’.ilked up to McLean and liietl directly al bin. AlcI.can put up his hands to his 1,, e. All the hoys rushed through Hi,, doors and "indents. McLean got up and walked alter being shot. Higgins fired several shots in the room. AlcLean dropped in the corridor tun! had three -hols in hi- body. 1 saw Stewart (de-it-.i.-od) lying close to the stove, with blood coining I'ront a wound noni- his

eye. SKl,it TI: I) HIS Vlf T! .MS. Mi s Doris I. Hcv.it:. a teacher, mokes an important stnlciueiii- supporting the contention that I lignins <e--1.-vlci! certain children t > Kill. S'he ray- Higgins tame into our 1 lass room with a revolt cr am! walke d up the firs! row of tle-ks. and commi-ncrd shooting as In' walked along between the desks. He- appeared to he picking mil certain children te> shoot. Other st.'iii’inenls show that Mr lie-id (In-a'ilma'-tort spoke l to Higgins through the window previous to the latter coming into tin- si oeii'l. \YAIMING TRAGEDY. £ lIV TKLKCIi.U'H —PER I‘KKSS ASSOCIATION. AUCKLAND, Get. 27. .liilin Higgins appeared at llie Court this morning 011 a charge of murde r. He "its remanded for a wee-1, on this applie-ai iirii ol 1 In- indie -. lie remained quit- calm liming ihe brief proceedings