Late Night Assault at a Front Street Restaurant
A restaurant cook survives an assault after being struck with a revolver by a man who infiltrated the back of the establishment.
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.
H. O. Duncan, a cook employed at the New Westminster restaurant at 1214 Front Street, was shot at and assaulted by a sneak thief last night at 11 o'clock. The cook was alerted by noises coming from the rear of the kitchen. He proceeded to make an investigation and when he stepped out into the yard, a man rose from behind a pile of crates. Thinking that it was a thieving tramp, Duncan threw a cleaver at the man, but missed his mark. The man in turn sprang on the cook and felled him to the ground by a blow on the top of the head with a revolver, and then fired a shot at him. The shot did not hit him. Duncan has no idea who the man is and can only give a partial description of him.
“Thinking that it was a thieving tramp, Duncan threw a cleaver at the man.”
Front Street, now First Avenue, remains one of the city's most storied corridors. The incident reflects the dangers of working late in the service industry, a theme that persists in modern urban safety discussions.
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