ATTACKED BY A PRISONER.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 3051, 23 November 1908, Page 7

ATTACKED BY A PRISONER.

GOVERNOR OF A GAOL WOUNDED. On Friday afternoon, at 3.15 • o'clock, a prisoner named Norman, at present in the Terrace Goal (Wellington) undergoing a sentence tor an indecent assault on a boy, made an . attack on Mr Armstrong, governor of the gaol, with a chisel. As ihe result of his injuries Mr Armstitng is in a weak state. The attack was altogether un- • expected. At the time mentioned Mr Armstrong was visiting the carpenters' shop for the purpose of in structing the officer in charge, while Norman, a cabinetmaker, was engaged on a bench near by. As the governor was leaving the shop, having his back turned to the benches, -the prisoner, before hands could pre- • vent him, leaped forward and struck Mr Armstrong a blow on the neck with the chisel he had been ! using. The weapon, a razor-sharp one, with • a three-quarter-inch blade, drove through the collar of the coat and the • starched collar, entering the neck, dangerously close to the jugular vein. Continuing his rush, Norman immediately bolted, pursued by the • officers and two prisoners, who recaptured their man before he reached Woolcombe Street. I Dr Gilmer was summoned to attend ' Mr Armstrong, and the wound, within : half an inch of the jugular vein, was stitched up. The accused will appear at the Court to-day, charged with the assault on the gaoler.