A Precarious Bicycle Ride Ends in Tragedy for a Tacoma Musician
A member of the Tacoma military band is recovering from a gunshot wound after a tumble from his bicycle caused his concealed revolver to discharge.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Henry A. Pelletier, a brother of Major John Pelletier, Governor Rogers' private secretary, and a member of the Tacoma military band, was accidentally shot at 10 o'clock last night. The accident occurred near the reservoir on the Water Ditch Road. Pelletier fell from a bicycle, and a revolver in his pocket exploded, the ball striking him in the thigh. Pelletier and another military bandsman were riding toward Tacoma. At the Fern Hill road they parted, and shortly after a shot was heard, followed by a cry from Pelletier. His companion went to the place and found Pelletier lying on the path. He led him to rise, and the two walked to the home of Officer Shock at 27th Street and Tacoma Avenue, from which place the police were notified and the patrol wagon was sent to remove Pelletier to the St. Joseph's Hospital. This morning he was resting easy, and, though the wound is serious, it is not as bad as it might have been.
“Pelletier fell from a bicycle, and a revolver in his pocket exploded, the ball striking him in the thigh.”
The precarious nature of urban transit—even on a bicycle—has remained a constant of city life for over a century. While concealed carry laws and medical protocols have changed, the dangers of mixing mechanical mishaps with firearms continue to resonate in modern news headlines.
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