Jim Kershner’s this day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

John J. O’Connor, an assayer from the mining district of Republic, Washington, walked up to his wife outside of Davenport’s restaurant in Spokane.

She turned to him and said, “John, I want to talk to you about something.”

She was referring to the fact that she had come to Spokane without him, with a view to obtaining a divorce.

He interrupted her and said, “I have something for you in my pocket, and it will fix you right.”

He tried to pull a revolver, yet it momentarily snagged in his pocket. His wife immediately ran through the door of Davenport’s restaurant and raced down a corridor.

“Guests jumped for their chairs at the sight of a well-dressed woman fleeing down a corridor, but fell back apprehensively as a gray-haired young man followed with a weapon in hand.”

Three times, O’Connor raised the revolver and took aim. Each time, he was “denied a mark” by his wife, who resourcefully dodged behind groups of patrons.

A hotel steward grabbed O’Connor and disarmed him. He gazed “agitatedly” at his wife until Spokane detectives arrived to arrest him for assault with a deadly weapon.

While in custody, O’Connor admitted that he had made a big mistake.

“It was a bonehead play,” he told detectives.