ACCIDENTALLY SHOT.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 July 1917, Page 7

ACCIDENTALLY SHOT.

SOME PERTKiENT ADVICETho inquest touching the death of Roy Loder, who met his dearth on PwKlay when shooting on tie Hnrford Koad proporfcy of Mr. Newton King, was concluded before Mr. A. Crooke, S.M., coroner, yesterday. Constable Fitzgibbon watched the inquiry on behalf of the police. James Harold Wooller, aged 17, n baker in bis father's employment, delved that ho and deceased had been in the habit of going oat tog-ether on gundays fishing, and on two occasions thoy weftt shooting. Witness instructed deceased how to hold a gun, and also told him to take the cartridges out when crossing a fence. Witness called for deceased about 9 olelock on Sunday morning, and they drove out to witness' brother-in-law's farm on Hurford Road, Omala, After lunch they Went but shooting, witness borrowing his brother-in-law's gun and giving his own, a domblcbarrclied breach-loading gun, to deceased. The gun was a good one, and quite safe, and witness gave deceased more instructions on how to handle it. At the same time witness gave him about ten cartridges. Witness ten him to load one barrel only at a time. After a time they went on Mr. Newton King's farm, where witness had four shots, but ■deceased had none. On returning, they looked for a suitable place to oross the stream, but eould not tind one, and witness went down the stream, asking deceased to come too. Deceased refused, saying "We'll fall in," and went to the top of the hill. Lower down witness found a suitable crossingplace, and just then witness called out to him '-'Where are you?" Witness replied stating that lie could cross easily,' and deceased called out "Wait a minute." To go up the hill deceased had to cross > a ft-irt fence, and before he could rejoin witness he. would have to re-cross it. Witness started to cross tie stream himself, and wa3 up to his hips in the water when he heard the gun go off and the deceased call out Witness thought he had got a bird or something, aad called to deceased, but got no reply. After a few minutes he called out again, but a» there was still Ho reply he went back across the Stream and up the hill. Coining to the wire fence, he walked along it a little distance, and then saw the gun deceased had been carrying It was lying against a post, with the barrel pointing through the (wires towards the river. Witness thought Loder was having a jefce with him, and called out again. Noticing the fern broken, he followed the trail down, and about six or seven yards from the fence he found iiij body of Loder, lying on its left side and huddled up. Witness shook the body and called out, but got no reply. As there were no movements witness thought he had fainted, so lie ' went to the river and gob some water. On coining back he turned tho body over, and saw Mood coming fryn his left side. Witness then took both gfilns abd hurried to the lnruse of .Mr. Walsh ' (his brcther-in law) and told him what had happened. They got assistance and took the holy out on to the road. Had deceased gone with witness lie would not have had to crffif* a wire fence. From where witness was when he heard the •ii#t to where he found the body would be about a chain.

Dr. Fookes testified that when he I reached the scene deceased was lying | by the road, liie -being quite extinct, ami apparently had been for some time, as the body was only partly warm. Witness described'the which were sufficient to cause almost instantaneous death through shock. The wound coincided with a gunshot wound received at almost a point-blank discharge. The indications are that deceased must have been iu a stooping position. Witness hhd examined the gun On the Sunday nisjht, and on the hammer corresponding with the barrel that had been discharged he found signs' he found that the gun had been in contact with some timber. h'dvsird Patrick Walsh corroborated t'no evidence given by his brother-in-la/r, •Ti'iiiK Harold Wooller. Plainclothes Constable Fitzgibbon also jni t,. evidence. He considered tljat from the position the gun was found in by Wooller deceased must hife been getting through fie fence and dragging the gUn after him when it went oft'.

CORONER'S FINDING. The Coroner said this was one of those pititul cases in which a young toon had ir.i-t hb life through an entirely preventable cans l ?, Hp had luiU no experience with firearms, and when he had occasion to cross a fenc» the gun went oil. llow i* wis discharged could not he told, but the deceased must either have been dragging it after him when, he went through the fence or placed it against tiwpost while he got through, turning tc pull it aft;r bira, find in so doing knocking the hammer against the post. In connection with such cases it hud occurred to hira that it might be beneficial if boys attending schools received some instruction in handling firearms. Such instruction Mould be more valuable than casual advice, such as deceased hod received, and would be so impressed on the :bovs' nilfxls that they would remember when they actually tame to hnndle guns. There were 'other things besides shooting in which instruction might be given in the schools. In boating, for instance, the boys shoidd be taught the danger of changing seats in midstream. and in swimming they should be taught first to float and not to struggle, tluroby garnrrrjr complete confidence in the water. Then aga'it, boys would climb telegraph poles when there were loose electric wires dangling froni t''em, aiuL in cliier ways they might be saved by instruction at school. 1 Boys would otherwise be careless and reckless, and it seemed to him that some such instruction as he had indicated might prevent many regretablc fatalities. The verdict in this case would be that the deceased was killed by the accidental discharge of a gun.