People's Pilot, Volume 3, Number 44, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 April 1894 — SHOT TWO MEN. [ARTICLE]

SHOT TWO MEN.

Rm alt of an Affray In Fx-President Harrison’s Law Office. Indianapolis, Ind., April 19.—Two men were shot, one seriously, at noon Tuesday in the room formerly occupied by Gen. Harrison as his private office. It was in the office of Miller, Winter & Elam, one of the bestknown law firms in Indiana. Attorney William M. Copelaud, ex-mem-ber of the legislature and a leading practitioner .at the Madison (Ind.) bar, entered the office with his counsel, Addison C. Harris. Seeing his brother-in-law. William H. Brnning, a New York capitalist, formerly of Madison, Copeland suddenly opened fire on the latter. Bruning’s jaw was shot away with the first bullet and he received the second in the wrist while throwing up his arm. Ex-Attorney General W. H. H. Miller grabbed Copeland, who continued pulling the trigger of his hammerless large caliber weapon until five shots were fired. One of the bullets struck Attorney Harris in the arm, breaking the bone below the elbow. Attorney Ferdinand Winters, with others, assisted Mr. Miller in overpowering Copeland, who fought as one mad to get at his brother-in-law after the latter had fallen. Later, when searched in the jail, an 8-inch dirk knife was found on Copeland. Bruning is at the hospital and will recover unless lockjaw sets in. Mr. Harris, who was one of the counsel of the Coffins, on trial for wrecking the Indianapolis national bank, will be laid up some time with his wounded arm. Mrs. Copeland is prosecuting a con test of her father's will by which she was disinherited and a suit to recover property from her brother, which she claims was deeded to him under duress. Attorney Copeland is well known in Indiana and married his wife during the session of the legislature of 1885, of which he was a member. At the jail Copeland made the following announcement:

“My wife has been in mortal fear of her brother ever since we were married, and I never understood why she was so completely in his power until a few hours ago, when my wife'made an astounding statement giving reasons why she had been afraid of her brother from her youth. When 1 saw her brother it was the first time I had heard her confession.. Before our marriage she was pn a visit to relatives at Mount Pleasant, la. Bruning, learning that I was to marry his sister, went to lowa and forced her to deed away a piece of property in Evansville. He told her that if she refused to make a deed to the property before she married me she would be a widow in a very few days after. She asked him if he intended to kill me and he said that he did unless she made the deed, and she made it I did not know about that transaction until after my wife came from New York in February, 1892. “When my mother-in-law died Bruning com-pletely-robbed my wife by having his father, who was 84 years old, almost blind, deaf and entirely incompetent make a will disinheriting my wife. Within five days from the date of the funeral of my wife’s mother Bruning had his father agree to a dissolution of partnership of the firm of J. H. Bruning & Son. He had his father also make a deed giving him all of the partnership interest. Everything was kept from my wife. Then we went to law over the will to set it aside and also to set aside the deed that he had fraudulently obtained. He took my wife to New York with him, where he was in business. He was trying to separate us, and he did everything in bis power possible to bring such a thing about. He kept her in New York four months against her will, and threatened it she left him he wonld have noihlng more to do with ner and she would have to get along the best way she knew how. He would not let her come back to me, aud when she finally escaped she returned to me almost wrecked in mind from what she had been forced to endure at the hands of her unnatural brother The amount involved in the case is about 550.000 in real estate and from i. 75,000 to JIOO.OOO in the partnership matters.”