Tarboro, Feb. 25—The entire community here was appalled Sunday morning by the slaying of a 12-year-old white boy by a 9-year-old white boy following an argument which grew out of a game of marbles “for keeps.”
Enraged at the loss of all his "dinas", Orville Howard, aged 9, sent a bullet from a .22 rifle tearing through the left lung of Jonas O’Neill, aged 12. The shooting took place abut 9:30 in the mill village section of the town.
\Jonas dropped to the ground with the blood pouring from his mouth and from the wound in his chest. Neighbors who heard the shot rushed to the scene and medical attention was hastily called but the victim survived the shooting by only 30 minutes.
Shocked at his deed the little slayer ran from the scene but was found afterwards and was held by the police for a short time during which he admitted the deed and appeared to be deeply distressed by the consequence of his act which had snuffed the life of his playmate. The rifle was discovered broken up by an axe.
After questioning by the police he was paroled in the custody of his parents. He will be given a hearing before the juvenile court.
The little victim was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Locky O’Neil. His father works in the mill here. The funeral will be held Monday at noon from the home, interment in Greenwood cemetery.
From the front page of the Wilson Times, Feb. 26, 1924
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