S.D. Gray, 25, in Grave Condition After Suicide Attempt, June 13, 1924

S.D. Gray Attempts to Take His Own Life. . . Express Manager Lies in a Charlotte Hospital in a Critical Condition

Charlotte, June 12—S.D. Gray, 25-year-old Southeastern Express company messenger, shot and it is thought mortally wounded himself in the messenger’s waiting room at the Southern railroad station here early this morning. Late today his condition was pronounced as grave at a local hospital, and it was doubtful whether or not he would live through the night.

Gray, who had a run between Charlotte and Savannah, Ga., put on the frills for a dramatic suicide. About midnight he called a friend, a taxi driver, and had him drive him to the station. En route to the station he made an effort to cut his throat but was prevented by his friend, M.R. Dunn, who took the knife.

Arriving at the station, Gray jumped from the cab, ran into the messengers’ room, and shot himself three times with a heavy calibre revolver. When reached by Dunn and a policeman, he was unconscious. He was taken to the hospital at once.

His wife, who hurried to the hospital when told of the affair, said that her husband had been despondent over financial troubles for some time.

From the front page of the Concord Daily Tribune, Friday, June 13, 1924