The Philadelphia Record; Tuesday morning, April 3, 1928, Page 11:
"DE MAYO – Suddenly, April 1, MARY T., daughter of Joseph A. and Anna V. De Mayo (nee McGlone). Relatives and friends, also pupils of Our Lady of Victory School, are invited to funeral, Wed., 7.30 A. M., parents' residence, 658 N. 54th st. Solemn Requiem Mass at the Church of Our Lady of Victory, 9 A. M. Int. Holy Cross Cem."
The Evening Bulletin – Philadelphia; Monday, April 2, 1928, Page 2:
"POLICEMAN KILLS GIRL – FIRED AT CAR
Bullet Aimed at Motor Thief Strikes Child on Way Home from Sunday School
ARREST WOUNDED SUSPECT
Mayor Send Sympathy
Director of Public Safety Harry C. Davis today called at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph De Mayo, parents of the slain girl, and paid the condolences of himself and Mayor Mackey. The family also received the following letter from the Mayor:
"I have read with the greatest sorrow of the terrible catastrophe that has overtaken your home. I have directed Director of Public Safety Davis to visit you in order to convey you the grief of those who are charged with the execution of public duty. I know that I cannot comfort you, but I can assure you of my great sympathy. God alone can assure your grief and to Him I commend you both for guidance and comfort. Director Davis will ascertain all your present wants growing out of this sad affair, and I shall see that they are immediately supplied."
A thirteen year-old girl is dead from a bullet fired by a policeman at 52d and Warren sts., below Lancaster av., in a chase after a stolen automobile. The driver, also wounded, was captured later. The girl, Mary DeMayo, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. DeMayo, 658 N. 54th st., died in the West Philadelphia Hospital last night from a shot in the brain, inflicted several hours earlier when she was on her way home from Sunday School. George Jones, a policeman of the 56th st. and Lancaster av. Station, identified Edward Callahan, nineteen, 6th st. near Girard av., as the driver of the stolen motor, after Callahan was found wounded at his home shortly after the shooting. Police said Callahan confessed stealing the car, after being recognized by Jones. He was arrested after Dr. G. F. Shepherd, 1213 N. 54th st., told police he had treated him for a slight gunshot wound in the scalp. Jones was at 52d st. and Girard av. At 3.20 P. M. when Roland S. Pennewell, 35 S. Yewdell st., pointed to his automobile, stolen from in front of his home two hours before. The car, containing three youths, was going north on 52d st. The policeman jumped into a car driven by Ira Lewis, 120 N. 52d st., and started in pursuit. With Lewis were Frank Whillden, 5306 Malvern ave. and James Tinney, also of 120 N. 52d st. The youths in the stolen car saw Jones on the running board, pistol in hand, and the driver increased his speed. After a chase of several blocks, in which Jones did not dare to fire on account of heavy traffic, the fugitive car was forced to the curb at Warren st. The driver made the turn into Warren st., but the car almost overturned. Lewis' automobile ran by the intersection and Jones leaped off. As the fugitive car sped west on Warren st. Jones fired three times. Then he heard the girl scream. He abandoned the chase and took her in the hospital in Lewis' automobile. The child was returning from St. Gregory's Church, 52d and Warren sts., with her sister, Bernadine, eleven, and Margaret Farrell, eleven, and her sister, Elizabeth, nine, 662 (?) N. 54th st. They had just turned the corner at 53d st. "I looked down the street before firing and didn't see anyone," said Jones, who was near collapse after taking the girl to the hospital. Peter Sheller, a murder squad detective, said one shot had knocked Callahan's hat from his head and a second had struck the car. "Jones looked down the street before firing, and cannot be charged with reckless use of firearms," he said. "This matter is much regretted." The car was found abandoned at 59th st. and Haddington av. Callahan told Sheller he did not know his companions, but had just picked them up for a ride. "It's one of those things that happen. We don't blame the policeman," the girl's father said today. "Mary turned around the corner and was hit. I know the policeman didn't fire at her deliberately. However, we have lost her." "The police said she was hit by a bullet that ricocheted off the automobile. I don't think that is so. It evidently was a straight hit. It is too bad she couldn't have been there five minutes earlier." The victim also is survived by a brother, Joseph, eight, and a sister, Lillian, eighteen months."
The Philadelphia Inquirer; Monday morning, April 2, 1928, Page 1:
"GIRL, 12, IS SLAIN BY BULLET FIRED AT AUTO THIEVES
Mary DeMayo, Going Home from Sunday School, Felled in Street by Shot from Policeman's Gun
Chase of Three Men in Stolen Car Given Up, But Wounded Driver Is Caught After Visit to Physician
While on her way home from Sunday school yesterday afternoon, a 12 year-old girl was shot and fatally wounded by a policeman who, after a chase of more than a mile, opened fire on three automobile thieves, thinking there was no one in the path of his fire. The little girl, who was accompanied by her younger sister and two companions, was Mary DeMayo, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. DeMayo, of 658 North Fifty-fourth street. She died in the West Philadelphia Homeopathic Hospital at 9.14 from a gunshot wound to the temple. A short time after the shooting, in which Policeman George Jones had hurled one bullet in the rear of the stolen car, near the driver's back, and had shot the hat off his head with a second, Dr. G. F. Shepherd, of 1213 North Fifty-fourth street, reported to the police that he had just treated a young man for a gunshot wound of the scalp, and had ordered him to go to bed. Detective Thomas Allen, of the Fiftieth street and Lancaster avenue station, went to a dwelling on North Forty-sixth street near Girard avenue, and arrested Edward Callahan, 19. Questioned in the station house by detectives, he confessed he had been the driver of the stolen machine. He was charged with larceny of an automobile, attempting to run down an officer, reckless driving, and removed to the City Hall for questioning by Lieutenant Peter Sheller, of the murder squad. He said he knew his two companions on the wild ride only by their nicknames. The stolen car later was found abandoned at Fifty-ninth street and Haddington avenue by police. One leaden bullet was found buried in the rear, as the bluecoat had claimed.
Three Men Take Car
A few minutes after 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon, Roland S. Pennewell, of 35 South Yewdell street, parked his new roadster on Fifty-second street, just south of Girard avenue, while he entered a nearby store to purchase a package of cigarettes. When he emerged a few moments later, he saw three young men seated in his car, just starting across the intersection, north on Fifty-second. He called to Jones, who was standing a few feet distant, saying, "There goes my car! Those men are stealing it!"Jones ran out into Fifty-second street and commandeered the car driven by Ira Lewis, of 120 North Fifty-second street. With him in the car were Frank Whillden, 5306 Malvern avenue, and James Tinney, also of 120 North Fifty-second street. When the thieves saw they were being pursued, with Jones, gun in hand clinging to the running board of the pursuing car, they increased their speed until both cars were roaring northward at terrific speed. The policeman withheld his fire, for the street is a favorite thoroughfare for Sunday motorists and the sidewalks were crowded with children at play and older pedestrians. Lewis, whose car was capable of a greater speed than that of the stolen machine, maneuvered it to skillfully that just south of Warren street, a short, diagonal thoroughfare parallelling Lancaster avenue one block to the south, he was able to run the stolen machine into the curb. Jones leaned from the running board and turned, confronting the thieves with his leveled gun, but at the same moment the driver "stepped on the gas," and the policeman was forced to throw himself to the sidewalk to escape being run down. He turned quickly and, as the car turned west at a high rate of speed on Warren street, glanced down that street to see if there were any persons on the sidewalk. When he saw none he fired three times.
Hat Knocked Off
So accurate was his fire that one of the bullets entered the hatband of the driver of the machine, penetrated the crown and hurled the headpiece to the street. But the same bullet struck Mary DeMayo over the eye. Jones almost collapsed when he heard the child's scream, and, calling to Lewis to abandon the chase, gathered her in his arms, leaped into the Lewis car and ordered him to drive to the West Philadelphia Homeopathic Hospital. The girl was just returning from Sunday school at St. Gregory's Church, near Fifty-second and Warren streets, in company with her 11 year-old sister, Bernadine, and two little friends, Margaret Farrell, eleven, of (?) North Fifty-fourth street, and her sister, Elizabeth Farrell, nine. The (?) of children apparently rounded the corner of the street, unseen by Jones, just as he fired. Mary had two sister, Bernadine and Lillian , eighteen months old and one younger brother, Joseph, eight."
"DE MAYO – Suddenly, April 1, MARY T., daughter of Joseph A. and Anna V. De Mayo (nee McGlone). Relatives and friends, also pupils of Our Lady of Victory School, are invited to funeral, Wed., 7.30 A. M., parents' residence, 658 N. 54th st. Solemn Requiem Mass at the Church of Our Lady of Victory, 9 A. M. Int. Holy Cross Cem."
The Evening Bulletin – Philadelphia; Monday, April 2, 1928, Page 2:
"POLICEMAN KILLS GIRL – FIRED AT CAR
Bullet Aimed at Motor Thief Strikes Child on Way Home from Sunday School
ARREST WOUNDED SUSPECT
Mayor Send Sympathy
Director of Public Safety Harry C. Davis today called at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph De Mayo, parents of the slain girl, and paid the condolences of himself and Mayor Mackey. The family also received the following letter from the Mayor:
"I have read with the greatest sorrow of the terrible catastrophe that has overtaken your home. I have directed Director of Public Safety Davis to visit you in order to convey you the grief of those who are charged with the execution of public duty. I know that I cannot comfort you, but I can assure you of my great sympathy. God alone can assure your grief and to Him I commend you both for guidance and comfort. Director Davis will ascertain all your present wants growing out of this sad affair, and I shall see that they are immediately supplied."
A thirteen year-old girl is dead from a bullet fired by a policeman at 52d and Warren sts., below Lancaster av., in a chase after a stolen automobile. The driver, also wounded, was captured later. The girl, Mary DeMayo, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. DeMayo, 658 N. 54th st., died in the West Philadelphia Hospital last night from a shot in the brain, inflicted several hours earlier when she was on her way home from Sunday School. George Jones, a policeman of the 56th st. and Lancaster av. Station, identified Edward Callahan, nineteen, 6th st. near Girard av., as the driver of the stolen motor, after Callahan was found wounded at his home shortly after the shooting. Police said Callahan confessed stealing the car, after being recognized by Jones. He was arrested after Dr. G. F. Shepherd, 1213 N. 54th st., told police he had treated him for a slight gunshot wound in the scalp. Jones was at 52d st. and Girard av. At 3.20 P. M. when Roland S. Pennewell, 35 S. Yewdell st., pointed to his automobile, stolen from in front of his home two hours before. The car, containing three youths, was going north on 52d st. The policeman jumped into a car driven by Ira Lewis, 120 N. 52d st., and started in pursuit. With Lewis were Frank Whillden, 5306 Malvern ave. and James Tinney, also of 120 N. 52d st. The youths in the stolen car saw Jones on the running board, pistol in hand, and the driver increased his speed. After a chase of several blocks, in which Jones did not dare to fire on account of heavy traffic, the fugitive car was forced to the curb at Warren st. The driver made the turn into Warren st., but the car almost overturned. Lewis' automobile ran by the intersection and Jones leaped off. As the fugitive car sped west on Warren st. Jones fired three times. Then he heard the girl scream. He abandoned the chase and took her in the hospital in Lewis' automobile. The child was returning from St. Gregory's Church, 52d and Warren sts., with her sister, Bernadine, eleven, and Margaret Farrell, eleven, and her sister, Elizabeth, nine, 662 (?) N. 54th st. They had just turned the corner at 53d st. "I looked down the street before firing and didn't see anyone," said Jones, who was near collapse after taking the girl to the hospital. Peter Sheller, a murder squad detective, said one shot had knocked Callahan's hat from his head and a second had struck the car. "Jones looked down the street before firing, and cannot be charged with reckless use of firearms," he said. "This matter is much regretted." The car was found abandoned at 59th st. and Haddington av. Callahan told Sheller he did not know his companions, but had just picked them up for a ride. "It's one of those things that happen. We don't blame the policeman," the girl's father said today. "Mary turned around the corner and was hit. I know the policeman didn't fire at her deliberately. However, we have lost her." "The police said she was hit by a bullet that ricocheted off the automobile. I don't think that is so. It evidently was a straight hit. It is too bad she couldn't have been there five minutes earlier." The victim also is survived by a brother, Joseph, eight, and a sister, Lillian, eighteen months."
The Philadelphia Inquirer; Monday morning, April 2, 1928, Page 1:
"GIRL, 12, IS SLAIN BY BULLET FIRED AT AUTO THIEVES
Mary DeMayo, Going Home from Sunday School, Felled in Street by Shot from Policeman's Gun
Chase of Three Men in Stolen Car Given Up, But Wounded Driver Is Caught After Visit to Physician
While on her way home from Sunday school yesterday afternoon, a 12 year-old girl was shot and fatally wounded by a policeman who, after a chase of more than a mile, opened fire on three automobile thieves, thinking there was no one in the path of his fire. The little girl, who was accompanied by her younger sister and two companions, was Mary DeMayo, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. DeMayo, of 658 North Fifty-fourth street. She died in the West Philadelphia Homeopathic Hospital at 9.14 from a gunshot wound to the temple. A short time after the shooting, in which Policeman George Jones had hurled one bullet in the rear of the stolen car, near the driver's back, and had shot the hat off his head with a second, Dr. G. F. Shepherd, of 1213 North Fifty-fourth street, reported to the police that he had just treated a young man for a gunshot wound of the scalp, and had ordered him to go to bed. Detective Thomas Allen, of the Fiftieth street and Lancaster avenue station, went to a dwelling on North Forty-sixth street near Girard avenue, and arrested Edward Callahan, 19. Questioned in the station house by detectives, he confessed he had been the driver of the stolen machine. He was charged with larceny of an automobile, attempting to run down an officer, reckless driving, and removed to the City Hall for questioning by Lieutenant Peter Sheller, of the murder squad. He said he knew his two companions on the wild ride only by their nicknames. The stolen car later was found abandoned at Fifty-ninth street and Haddington avenue by police. One leaden bullet was found buried in the rear, as the bluecoat had claimed.
Three Men Take Car
A few minutes after 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon, Roland S. Pennewell, of 35 South Yewdell street, parked his new roadster on Fifty-second street, just south of Girard avenue, while he entered a nearby store to purchase a package of cigarettes. When he emerged a few moments later, he saw three young men seated in his car, just starting across the intersection, north on Fifty-second. He called to Jones, who was standing a few feet distant, saying, "There goes my car! Those men are stealing it!"Jones ran out into Fifty-second street and commandeered the car driven by Ira Lewis, of 120 North Fifty-second street. With him in the car were Frank Whillden, 5306 Malvern avenue, and James Tinney, also of 120 North Fifty-second street. When the thieves saw they were being pursued, with Jones, gun in hand clinging to the running board of the pursuing car, they increased their speed until both cars were roaring northward at terrific speed. The policeman withheld his fire, for the street is a favorite thoroughfare for Sunday motorists and the sidewalks were crowded with children at play and older pedestrians. Lewis, whose car was capable of a greater speed than that of the stolen machine, maneuvered it to skillfully that just south of Warren street, a short, diagonal thoroughfare parallelling Lancaster avenue one block to the south, he was able to run the stolen machine into the curb. Jones leaned from the running board and turned, confronting the thieves with his leveled gun, but at the same moment the driver "stepped on the gas," and the policeman was forced to throw himself to the sidewalk to escape being run down. He turned quickly and, as the car turned west at a high rate of speed on Warren street, glanced down that street to see if there were any persons on the sidewalk. When he saw none he fired three times.
Hat Knocked Off
So accurate was his fire that one of the bullets entered the hatband of the driver of the machine, penetrated the crown and hurled the headpiece to the street. But the same bullet struck Mary DeMayo over the eye. Jones almost collapsed when he heard the child's scream, and, calling to Lewis to abandon the chase, gathered her in his arms, leaped into the Lewis car and ordered him to drive to the West Philadelphia Homeopathic Hospital. The girl was just returning from Sunday school at St. Gregory's Church, near Fifty-second and Warren streets, in company with her 11 year-old sister, Bernadine, and two little friends, Margaret Farrell, eleven, of (?) North Fifty-fourth street, and her sister, Elizabeth Farrell, nine. The (?) of children apparently rounded the corner of the street, unseen by Jones, just as he fired. Mary had two sister, Bernadine and Lillian , eighteen months old and one younger brother, Joseph, eight."
The Philadelphia Record; Tuesday morning, April 3, 1928, Page 11:
"DE MAYO – Suddenly, April 1, MARY T., daughter of Joseph A. and Anna V. De Mayo (nee McGlone). Relatives and friends, also pupils of Our Lady of Victory School, are invited to funeral, Wed., 7.30 A. M., parents' residence, 658 N. 54th st. Solemn Requiem Mass at the Church of Our Lady of Victory, 9 A. M. Int. Holy Cross Cem."
The Evening Bulletin – Philadelphia; Monday, April 2, 1928, Page 2:
"POLICEMAN KILLS GIRL – FIRED AT CAR
Bullet Aimed at Motor Thief Strikes Child on Way Home from Sunday School
ARREST WOUNDED SUSPECT
Mayor Send Sympathy
Director of Public Safety Harry C. Davis today called at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph De Mayo, parents of the slain girl, and paid the condolences of himself and Mayor Mackey. The family also received the following letter from the Mayor:
"I have read with the greatest sorrow of the terrible catastrophe that has overtaken your home. I have directed Director of Public Safety Davis to visit you in order to convey you the grief of those who are charged with the execution of public duty. I know that I cannot comfort you, but I can assure you of my great sympathy. God alone can assure your grief and to Him I commend you both for guidance and comfort. Director Davis will ascertain all your present wants growing out of this sad affair, and I shall see that they are immediately supplied."
A thirteen year-old girl is dead from a bullet fired by a policeman at 52d and Warren sts., below Lancaster av., in a chase after a stolen automobile. The driver, also wounded, was captured later. The girl, Mary DeMayo, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. DeMayo, 658 N. 54th st., died in the West Philadelphia Hospital last night from a shot in the brain, inflicted several hours earlier when she was on her way home from Sunday School. George Jones, a policeman of the 56th st. and Lancaster av. Station, identified Edward Callahan, nineteen, 6th st. near Girard av., as the driver of the stolen motor, after Callahan was found wounded at his home shortly after the shooting. Police said Callahan confessed stealing the car, after being recognized by Jones. He was arrested after Dr. G. F. Shepherd, 1213 N. 54th st., told police he had treated him for a slight gunshot wound in the scalp. Jones was at 52d st. and Girard av. At 3.20 P. M. when Roland S. Pennewell, 35 S. Yewdell st., pointed to his automobile, stolen from in front of his home two hours before. The car, containing three youths, was going north on 52d st. The policeman jumped into a car driven by Ira Lewis, 120 N. 52d st., and started in pursuit. With Lewis were Frank Whillden, 5306 Malvern ave. and James Tinney, also of 120 N. 52d st. The youths in the stolen car saw Jones on the running board, pistol in hand, and the driver increased his speed. After a chase of several blocks, in which Jones did not dare to fire on account of heavy traffic, the fugitive car was forced to the curb at Warren st. The driver made the turn into Warren st., but the car almost overturned. Lewis' automobile ran by the intersection and Jones leaped off. As the fugitive car sped west on Warren st. Jones fired three times. Then he heard the girl scream. He abandoned the chase and took her in the hospital in Lewis' automobile. The child was returning from St. Gregory's Church, 52d and Warren sts., with her sister, Bernadine, eleven, and Margaret Farrell, eleven, and her sister, Elizabeth, nine, 662 (?) N. 54th st. They had just turned the corner at 53d st. "I looked down the street before firing and didn't see anyone," said Jones, who was near collapse after taking the girl to the hospital. Peter Sheller, a murder squad detective, said one shot had knocked Callahan's hat from his head and a second had struck the car. "Jones looked down the street before firing, and cannot be charged with reckless use of firearms," he said. "This matter is much regretted." The car was found abandoned at 59th st. and Haddington av. Callahan told Sheller he did not know his companions, but had just picked them up for a ride. "It's one of those things that happen. We don't blame the policeman," the girl's father said today. "Mary turned around the corner and was hit. I know the policeman didn't fire at her deliberately. However, we have lost her." "The police said she was hit by a bullet that ricocheted off the automobile. I don't think that is so. It evidently was a straight hit. It is too bad she couldn't have been there five minutes earlier." The victim also is survived by a brother, Joseph, eight, and a sister, Lillian, eighteen months."
The Philadelphia Inquirer; Monday morning, April 2, 1928, Page 1:
"GIRL, 12, IS SLAIN BY BULLET FIRED AT AUTO THIEVES
Mary DeMayo, Going Home from Sunday School, Felled in Street by Shot from Policeman's Gun
Chase of Three Men in Stolen Car Given Up, But Wounded Driver Is Caught After Visit to Physician
While on her way home from Sunday school yesterday afternoon, a 12 year-old girl was shot and fatally wounded by a policeman who, after a chase of more than a mile, opened fire on three automobile thieves, thinking there was no one in the path of his fire. The little girl, who was accompanied by her younger sister and two companions, was Mary DeMayo, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. DeMayo, of 658 North Fifty-fourth street. She died in the West Philadelphia Homeopathic Hospital at 9.14 from a gunshot wound to the temple. A short time after the shooting, in which Policeman George Jones had hurled one bullet in the rear of the stolen car, near the driver's back, and had shot the hat off his head with a second, Dr. G. F. Shepherd, of 1213 North Fifty-fourth street, reported to the police that he had just treated a young man for a gunshot wound of the scalp, and had ordered him to go to bed. Detective Thomas Allen, of the Fiftieth street and Lancaster avenue station, went to a dwelling on North Forty-sixth street near Girard avenue, and arrested Edward Callahan, 19. Questioned in the station house by detectives, he confessed he had been the driver of the stolen machine. He was charged with larceny of an automobile, attempting to run down an officer, reckless driving, and removed to the City Hall for questioning by Lieutenant Peter Sheller, of the murder squad. He said he knew his two companions on the wild ride only by their nicknames. The stolen car later was found abandoned at Fifty-ninth street and Haddington avenue by police. One leaden bullet was found buried in the rear, as the bluecoat had claimed.
Three Men Take Car
A few minutes after 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon, Roland S. Pennewell, of 35 South Yewdell street, parked his new roadster on Fifty-second street, just south of Girard avenue, while he entered a nearby store to purchase a package of cigarettes. When he emerged a few moments later, he saw three young men seated in his car, just starting across the intersection, north on Fifty-second. He called to Jones, who was standing a few feet distant, saying, "There goes my car! Those men are stealing it!"Jones ran out into Fifty-second street and commandeered the car driven by Ira Lewis, of 120 North Fifty-second street. With him in the car were Frank Whillden, 5306 Malvern avenue, and James Tinney, also of 120 North Fifty-second street. When the thieves saw they were being pursued, with Jones, gun in hand clinging to the running board of the pursuing car, they increased their speed until both cars were roaring northward at terrific speed. The policeman withheld his fire, for the street is a favorite thoroughfare for Sunday motorists and the sidewalks were crowded with children at play and older pedestrians. Lewis, whose car was capable of a greater speed than that of the stolen machine, maneuvered it to skillfully that just south of Warren street, a short, diagonal thoroughfare parallelling Lancaster avenue one block to the south, he was able to run the stolen machine into the curb. Jones leaned from the running board and turned, confronting the thieves with his leveled gun, but at the same moment the driver "stepped on the gas," and the policeman was forced to throw himself to the sidewalk to escape being run down. He turned quickly and, as the car turned west at a high rate of speed on Warren street, glanced down that street to see if there were any persons on the sidewalk. When he saw none he fired three times.
Hat Knocked Off
So accurate was his fire that one of the bullets entered the hatband of the driver of the machine, penetrated the crown and hurled the headpiece to the street. But the same bullet struck Mary DeMayo over the eye. Jones almost collapsed when he heard the child's scream, and, calling to Lewis to abandon the chase, gathered her in his arms, leaped into the Lewis car and ordered him to drive to the West Philadelphia Homeopathic Hospital. The girl was just returning from Sunday school at St. Gregory's Church, near Fifty-second and Warren streets, in company with her 11 year-old sister, Bernadine, and two little friends, Margaret Farrell, eleven, of (?) North Fifty-fourth street, and her sister, Elizabeth Farrell, nine. The (?) of children apparently rounded the corner of the street, unseen by Jones, just as he fired. Mary had two sister, Bernadine and Lillian , eighteen months old and one younger brother, Joseph, eight."
"DE MAYO – Suddenly, April 1, MARY T., daughter of Joseph A. and Anna V. De Mayo (nee McGlone). Relatives and friends, also pupils of Our Lady of Victory School, are invited to funeral, Wed., 7.30 A. M., parents' residence, 658 N. 54th st. Solemn Requiem Mass at the Church of Our Lady of Victory, 9 A. M. Int. Holy Cross Cem."
The Evening Bulletin – Philadelphia; Monday, April 2, 1928, Page 2:
"POLICEMAN KILLS GIRL – FIRED AT CAR
Bullet Aimed at Motor Thief Strikes Child on Way Home from Sunday School
ARREST WOUNDED SUSPECT
Mayor Send Sympathy
Director of Public Safety Harry C. Davis today called at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph De Mayo, parents of the slain girl, and paid the condolences of himself and Mayor Mackey. The family also received the following letter from the Mayor:
"I have read with the greatest sorrow of the terrible catastrophe that has overtaken your home. I have directed Director of Public Safety Davis to visit you in order to convey you the grief of those who are charged with the execution of public duty. I know that I cannot comfort you, but I can assure you of my great sympathy. God alone can assure your grief and to Him I commend you both for guidance and comfort. Director Davis will ascertain all your present wants growing out of this sad affair, and I shall see that they are immediately supplied."
A thirteen year-old girl is dead from a bullet fired by a policeman at 52d and Warren sts., below Lancaster av., in a chase after a stolen automobile. The driver, also wounded, was captured later. The girl, Mary DeMayo, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. DeMayo, 658 N. 54th st., died in the West Philadelphia Hospital last night from a shot in the brain, inflicted several hours earlier when she was on her way home from Sunday School. George Jones, a policeman of the 56th st. and Lancaster av. Station, identified Edward Callahan, nineteen, 6th st. near Girard av., as the driver of the stolen motor, after Callahan was found wounded at his home shortly after the shooting. Police said Callahan confessed stealing the car, after being recognized by Jones. He was arrested after Dr. G. F. Shepherd, 1213 N. 54th st., told police he had treated him for a slight gunshot wound in the scalp. Jones was at 52d st. and Girard av. At 3.20 P. M. when Roland S. Pennewell, 35 S. Yewdell st., pointed to his automobile, stolen from in front of his home two hours before. The car, containing three youths, was going north on 52d st. The policeman jumped into a car driven by Ira Lewis, 120 N. 52d st., and started in pursuit. With Lewis were Frank Whillden, 5306 Malvern ave. and James Tinney, also of 120 N. 52d st. The youths in the stolen car saw Jones on the running board, pistol in hand, and the driver increased his speed. After a chase of several blocks, in which Jones did not dare to fire on account of heavy traffic, the fugitive car was forced to the curb at Warren st. The driver made the turn into Warren st., but the car almost overturned. Lewis' automobile ran by the intersection and Jones leaped off. As the fugitive car sped west on Warren st. Jones fired three times. Then he heard the girl scream. He abandoned the chase and took her in the hospital in Lewis' automobile. The child was returning from St. Gregory's Church, 52d and Warren sts., with her sister, Bernadine, eleven, and Margaret Farrell, eleven, and her sister, Elizabeth, nine, 662 (?) N. 54th st. They had just turned the corner at 53d st. "I looked down the street before firing and didn't see anyone," said Jones, who was near collapse after taking the girl to the hospital. Peter Sheller, a murder squad detective, said one shot had knocked Callahan's hat from his head and a second had struck the car. "Jones looked down the street before firing, and cannot be charged with reckless use of firearms," he said. "This matter is much regretted." The car was found abandoned at 59th st. and Haddington av. Callahan told Sheller he did not know his companions, but had just picked them up for a ride. "It's one of those things that happen. We don't blame the policeman," the girl's father said today. "Mary turned around the corner and was hit. I know the policeman didn't fire at her deliberately. However, we have lost her." "The police said she was hit by a bullet that ricocheted off the automobile. I don't think that is so. It evidently was a straight hit. It is too bad she couldn't have been there five minutes earlier." The victim also is survived by a brother, Joseph, eight, and a sister, Lillian, eighteen months."
The Philadelphia Inquirer; Monday morning, April 2, 1928, Page 1:
"GIRL, 12, IS SLAIN BY BULLET FIRED AT AUTO THIEVES
Mary DeMayo, Going Home from Sunday School, Felled in Street by Shot from Policeman's Gun
Chase of Three Men in Stolen Car Given Up, But Wounded Driver Is Caught After Visit to Physician
While on her way home from Sunday school yesterday afternoon, a 12 year-old girl was shot and fatally wounded by a policeman who, after a chase of more than a mile, opened fire on three automobile thieves, thinking there was no one in the path of his fire. The little girl, who was accompanied by her younger sister and two companions, was Mary DeMayo, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. DeMayo, of 658 North Fifty-fourth street. She died in the West Philadelphia Homeopathic Hospital at 9.14 from a gunshot wound to the temple. A short time after the shooting, in which Policeman George Jones had hurled one bullet in the rear of the stolen car, near the driver's back, and had shot the hat off his head with a second, Dr. G. F. Shepherd, of 1213 North Fifty-fourth street, reported to the police that he had just treated a young man for a gunshot wound of the scalp, and had ordered him to go to bed. Detective Thomas Allen, of the Fiftieth street and Lancaster avenue station, went to a dwelling on North Forty-sixth street near Girard avenue, and arrested Edward Callahan, 19. Questioned in the station house by detectives, he confessed he had been the driver of the stolen machine. He was charged with larceny of an automobile, attempting to run down an officer, reckless driving, and removed to the City Hall for questioning by Lieutenant Peter Sheller, of the murder squad. He said he knew his two companions on the wild ride only by their nicknames. The stolen car later was found abandoned at Fifty-ninth street and Haddington avenue by police. One leaden bullet was found buried in the rear, as the bluecoat had claimed.
Three Men Take Car
A few minutes after 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon, Roland S. Pennewell, of 35 South Yewdell street, parked his new roadster on Fifty-second street, just south of Girard avenue, while he entered a nearby store to purchase a package of cigarettes. When he emerged a few moments later, he saw three young men seated in his car, just starting across the intersection, north on Fifty-second. He called to Jones, who was standing a few feet distant, saying, "There goes my car! Those men are stealing it!"Jones ran out into Fifty-second street and commandeered the car driven by Ira Lewis, of 120 North Fifty-second street. With him in the car were Frank Whillden, 5306 Malvern avenue, and James Tinney, also of 120 North Fifty-second street. When the thieves saw they were being pursued, with Jones, gun in hand clinging to the running board of the pursuing car, they increased their speed until both cars were roaring northward at terrific speed. The policeman withheld his fire, for the street is a favorite thoroughfare for Sunday motorists and the sidewalks were crowded with children at play and older pedestrians. Lewis, whose car was capable of a greater speed than that of the stolen machine, maneuvered it to skillfully that just south of Warren street, a short, diagonal thoroughfare parallelling Lancaster avenue one block to the south, he was able to run the stolen machine into the curb. Jones leaned from the running board and turned, confronting the thieves with his leveled gun, but at the same moment the driver "stepped on the gas," and the policeman was forced to throw himself to the sidewalk to escape being run down. He turned quickly and, as the car turned west at a high rate of speed on Warren street, glanced down that street to see if there were any persons on the sidewalk. When he saw none he fired three times.
Hat Knocked Off
So accurate was his fire that one of the bullets entered the hatband of the driver of the machine, penetrated the crown and hurled the headpiece to the street. But the same bullet struck Mary DeMayo over the eye. Jones almost collapsed when he heard the child's scream, and, calling to Lewis to abandon the chase, gathered her in his arms, leaped into the Lewis car and ordered him to drive to the West Philadelphia Homeopathic Hospital. The girl was just returning from Sunday school at St. Gregory's Church, near Fifty-second and Warren streets, in company with her 11 year-old sister, Bernadine, and two little friends, Margaret Farrell, eleven, of (?) North Fifty-fourth street, and her sister, Elizabeth Farrell, nine. The (?) of children apparently rounded the corner of the street, unseen by Jones, just as he fired. Mary had two sister, Bernadine and Lillian , eighteen months old and one younger brother, Joseph, eight."
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