John E. Courier, Jr., 39, sales manager, attempted to save Ruby B. Mellon, 25, from being shot, Oviedo, Florida, April 9, 1954. At night a man who planned to kill his estranged wife forced his way into the kitchen of the Mellon residence, drew a loaded revolver, and pointed it at Mrs. Mellon, whose husband, the chief of police, was on patrol duty. The man informed Mrs. Mellon that he intended to hold her prisoner and thus force the police chief to bring the man’s wife to the Mellon home to be killed. Pretending to dial the police station, Mrs. Mellon telephoned the Courier residence nearby, stating that her husband was needed at home immediately. Courier partially dressed, placed a loaded revolver in a pocket of his trousers, and went outside. He heard voices in the kitchen and knocked on the door, which the man opened. Courier entered and saw Mrs. Mellon, who stood tense and frightened. Observing the man behind the door, Courier ordered him from the house. The man aimed his revolver at Courier and cocked the hammer. Lunging at the man, Courier seized the barrel of the gun. They grappled, Courier slowly forcing the gun upward to a position over his own left shoulder. As he attempted to twist the gun and point it toward the man, the latter fired a shot which pierced Courier’s neck and became lodged in his spinal column. Completely paralyzed, Courier fell to the floor. The man removed Courier’s revolver from his pocket. At the repeated urging of Mrs. Mellon, he finally consented to let her call a physician. Arriving in an automobile, the physician entered at the kitchen door without realizing the situation. He immediately was confronted by the man but persuaded him to lower his guns and step back while he treated Courier’s neck wound. Informed of the shooting by Courier’s wife, the police chief drove at high speed to the house. He entered the kitchen but quickly was disarmed, as was a constable who arrived shortly afterward with another man. When the police chief refused at gun point to aid him in his homicidal plan, the gunman forced the other man outside and into an automobile, ordering him to drive to the home of his wife. The gunman shot and critically wounded his wife. He later was apprehended and sentenced to a long prison term. The wife recovered. Courier, who was rushed to a hospital, was in critical condition for three weeks and suffered permanent partial disablement. 43175-3994
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