‘Manchester Evening News’ (28 January 1901)
SAD SHOOTING FATALITY IN MANCHESTER
A LITTLE GIRL SHOT BY HER SISTER
The death is reported this morning at the Children’s Hospital, Pendlebury, of a child aged three years named Gertrude Fouracre, daughter of Charlotte Fouracre, of Rusholme Road, Chorlton-on-Medlock. Shortly after the girl being put to bed with an elder sister on the 17th ult. a report was heard, and on rushing upstairs a servant discovered the child had been dangerously injured by a pistol shot. An elder brother of the child had had a pistol given to him by a soldier now in South Africa, and this he kept under his pillow, locking it up on going to work. On the morning of the date named this precaution was not taken, and Ellen Fouracre, a girl of nine years old, was playing with the weapon, when it exploded, the bullet entering the head of deceased.
THE INQUEST
The inquiry relative to the death of the little girl Gertrude Fouracre, was held to-day by Mr. J. F. Price, County Coroner, at the Children’s Hospital, Pendlebury.
Charlotte Fouracre, widow, and beerseller, 16, Rusholme Road, C.-on-M., said on Monday, Dec. 17th, deceased and two older sisters were taken to bed, and shortly afterwards a report of firearms was heard. An assistant named Rowe and her son Harry ran upstairs, and found deceased bleeding from the head. She was taken to Dr. Makinson’s, who attended her up to a fortnight ago, when she was brought to the Children’s Hospital. Helen [sic], a daughter, aged nine, told her she saw something shining on the mantelpiece, and reached it, and while looking at it, it went off. The pistol belonged to her son. He usually kept it under his pillow to frighten burglars with, the house having been twice broken into.
Robert Rowe, 10, Green Place, Ardwick, a soldier invalided home from South Africa, said while assisting in the vault he heard a report of a firearm and rushed upstairs. Deceased was lying on the bed bleeding from a wound in the left temple, and her sister Ellen was standing near crying. He took the child to Dr. Makinson’s at once.
Ellen Fouracre said deceased, her sister, Hannah, and herself slept together. The gas in the bedroom was put out, but the room was partially lighted by a street lamp opposite. After being in bed about five minutes she got out to reach her dolls, when she saw something shining on the mantlepiece [sic]. She reached it, standing on the edge of the bed. While she was examining it, not knowing what it was, the pistol went off–a small pocket-sized pistol now produced. “Fire came out,” she continued, “and went towards my young sister at the other side of the bed. She fell back on the bed, and I threw the thing down and began to cry. I had not seen it before.”
Police-constable Collinson, of the Manchester City Police, who produced the pistol, said in reply to the Coroner that the little girl had been before the city magistrates and remanded. Inquiries which had been made showed that the affair was a pure accident, and she would be discharged.
Harry Fouracre, brother of deceased, aged 21, said brother James, a soldier in South Africa, presented him with the pistol, which he brought over with him last August. He kept it loaded and placed it under his pillow at night because several burglaries had been attempted. He usually locked the pistol up in his clothes box during the day, but on the morning of the day mentioned he overslept himself and left in a hurry to go to work, placing the pistol on the mantelshelf. He usually left it at half-cock.
The Coroner: Why didn’t you leave the trigger down?
Witness: I thought it safer at half-cock.
The Coroner: It would have been less likely to go off if the trigger had been down. Did you intend to shoot the burglar?
Witness: No, I intended to make a report to frighten him though.
The Coroner: Why didn’t you extract the bullet then?
Witness said it never occurred to him. His brother, who understood firearms, advised him to keep the pistol at half cock.
Dr. Thackeray, resident medical officer at the Children’s Hospital, said deceased was admitted on the 14th inst. She had a wound in the skull, was paralysed and unconscious, in which condition she remained until her death on the 25th inst. He had since made a post-mortem examination, and traced the bullet to the back part of the brain on the right side. The bullet was produced. The cause of death was meningitis and inflammation of the brain caused by the bullet.
The Coroner said it was evidently a pure accident. Even if the little girl had pointed the weapon he doubted whether at her age she could be held criminally responsible. The young man had been careless in leaving the pistol where he did.
The jury immediately returned a verdict of accidental death.
‘Manchester Evening News’ (29 January 1901)
A PAINFUL CASE
CHARGE OF SHOOTING SISTER
A painful case was heard at the City Police Court this morning by Messrs. P. Mooney and J. M. Elliott, in which a little girl named Ellen Fouracre, of 16, Rusholme Road, C.-on-M., was charged with shooting her three-year old sister.
It appears from the evidence which was given at an inquest reported yesterday, that the little girl arose from bed on the night of the 17th December, and began to play with a pistol, which had been left loaded by her elder brother on the mantelpiece. The pistol, which was at half cock, went off accidentally, and Charlotte [sic] was shot. She was taken to the Children’s Hospital, but after lingering unconscious for a fortnight, died yesterday. The verdict of the jury was accidental death.
No evidence was given to-day, and the charge was dismissed after the bench had addressed a few words to the little girl, her brother, and her mother. It was stated that the prisoner’s mother lost her husband last February, and had been very ill since the accident happened. The pistol was impounded by the police.
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