Wilmington, Jan. 2—J.W. McKoy, well-known pharmacist of the Pinehurst drug store, would this morning be lying dead in his home, at 507 Nun Street, or at death’s door in a local hospital, were it not for the fact that in some mysterious manner, a bullet fired at him point blank by an unknown negro youth was diverted after it had struck the young white man just above the heart.
The shooting occurred on Castle street, near Eighth, after the negro and Mr. McKoy had an argument as to the street right of way. The white man, and some of his friends, were driving an automobile west along Castle street, and the unknown negro was riding a bicycle just ahead. When Mr. McKoy stopped his machine at a filling station near Eighth street, the negro jumped from his wheel and waled back to the car, cursing the driver, Mr. McKoy, for attempting to drive over him.
Mr. McKoy jumped from the machine, declaring he would thrash the negro for directing such vile epithets at him. When he reached the negro he struck him, but the blow was short, and while parrying with his left arm, the negro drew from his pocket a pistol and fired point blank at the white man, the bullet striking just above the heart. For a second Mr. McKoy was so dazed by the shock of the occurrence, expecting, he said, to drop to the ground seriously wounded. The negro ran to his wheel and made a hasty getaway.
When the white man realized that the bullet had not penetrated is body and that he was not badly hurt, he ran to his car and gave chase to the fast disappearing negro youth. The chase was down Ninth street, as far as Queen, where Mr. McKoy and his friends in his car, saw a number of negroes fighting, and in which crowd the bicycle rider disappeared.
Believing that the fighting negroes was a general riot, Mr. McKoy turned his car about, and at once drove to the police station, where he told of the shooting and made a close examination of his wound. It was found that the bullet had penetrated the left lapel of his coat and without even passing through his shirt, had turned and repassed through his coat about two inches from where it had entered.
Just above the young man’s hart there arose a small lump, but the skin was not broken at all. Just what had diverted the course of the piece of lead, neither Mr. McKoy nor the police were unable to say. Albert Todd, F.D. Smith and Roy Russ, who were in Mr. McKoy’s car, were eyewitnesses to the whole affair.
At police Mr. McKoy found that at Ninth and Queen streets Policemen W.H. Kermon had unaided, stopped what appeared to be a riot, and had carried one of the negroes to the hospital to have several stitches taken in a wound inflicted in his back with a knife.
The negro youth who fired at Mr. McKoy has not yet been apprehended.
From the front page of The Goldsboro News, Jan. 4, 1924
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