THE WANGANUI SENSATION.

Manawatu Herald, Volume L, Issue 3891, 5 January 1929, Page 2

THE WANGANUI SENSATION.

FURTHER DETAILS. Wanganui, January 4. Further particulars regarding the St. Hill Street tragedy on Wednesday evening go to show that at periods when negotiations were being irtade by the police and friends through the window to get Allen to listen to reason he was most friendly, and at other times quite rambling in his conversation. On one occasion he remarked that it must he dry work out there waiting, and did the boys want a drink. The offer was accepted in the hope that Allen would open the window wide enough to enable the police to get hold of his hand. Allen passed a bottle of aerated water out, hut did not open the window very wide. When he ran short of matches one ■was placed on the sill at a time, but again Allen only Opened the window sufficiently to pick up the match. Later in the evening he ran out of cigarettes, for he had been smoking almost continuously. A request for a packet was acceded to by the police. A fact that may account for Allen’s queer attitude of late was that he had been an inmate of the Wlanvanui Hospital from October 9 to 17. Prior to that he had been suffering from insomnia, and had complained only recently to friends that he could not sleep. Early in the evening of Wednesday last Iff) intimated through the window that he was well armed with Noble’s best No. 4 cartridges, and that lie would make a good job of anyone. Letters left were to the Coroner, Mr. JS. Barton, S.M., to his ,ntother, and lo Mrs. West. It is gathered from the contents of one of these letters that he clearly intended to take his life.

A bystander who was near the window, in full view of Allen when the ammonia was turned oil from the cylinder, said it discharged through the pipe into the shop with a series of throbs. At the sound of the first throb Allen jumped, up like a flash and rushed along behind the counter, found the pipe through which tlie fumes were pouring, and a second or so later the shot was fired.

Inquiry to-day showed that Mrs. Withey is •progressing as well as can be expected, and spent a fairly comfortable night, but she is not yet out of danger.