Looking back: Pair attempts to hijack car with senior inside and bullet misses man’s head by roughly three inches
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IDAHO FALLS — EastIdahoNews.com is looking back at what life was like during the week of Dec. 2 to Dec. 8 in east Idaho history.
1900-1925
BLACKFOOT — The Bingham County clerk had a “narrow escape” from a serious accident — possibly even death — when he was out cutting wood in his yard, The Blackfoot Optimist reported on Dec. 4, 1913.
The clerk, referred to as Jordan, was cutting wood when the axe caught on a clothesline above his head. It struck him in the forehead and gave him a gash that was two inches long.
“Had not the axe been very dull the injury would doubtless have been much worse,” the paper reads. “Moral — remember to keep the Sabbath holy — and don’t cut wood.”
1926-1950
HAMER — Over 100 animal hides were stolen from a local cellar, The Rigby Star reported on Dec. 6, 1934.
Thieves entered the cellar located in Hamer and stole 130 coyote hides and 20 badger hides, totaling $800.
The thieves broke into the cellar by breaking one of the windows. The Jefferson County sheriff and Clark County sheriff investigated the case but no trace of the hides had been found.
1951-1975
RIGBY — Two men attempted to hijack a car while the driver, a senior citizen, was inside, The Rigby Star reported on Dec. 4, 1969.
The older man was sitting inside his car in front of the Idaho National Bank on Main Street in Rigby when he noticed two men crossing the street from the west. As they got close to his car, one of the men yelled at him. The man inside his car said he couldn’t hear so he opened his door.
One of the men said he and his friend wanted to go to Idaho Falls and that the other man would do the driving.
“At the same time, the other man came around to the opposite front door of the car and attempted to open it, found it locked and the man who had asked for the ride, attempted to get in the open door,” the article explains.
It continues, “The senior citizen brandished a good sized stick in his face, slammed the door and the two would-be-hijackers went on their way.”
The paper said the incident wasn’t reported to police but that it was “worth publicizing even in small, rural communities such as ours.”
1976-2000
POCATELLO — Chubbuck police were investigating a shooting involving a 30-year-old man, the Idaho State Journal reported on Dec. 2, 1977.
The shooting happened after the man was asked to step outside his home — by someone who called him around 9:30 p.m. — to settle a dispute.
Police said a bullet whizzed by the man and missed his head by about three inches before lodging into a doorway.
“Whoever did it wasn’t target practicing,” a police official stated.
No further information was released at the time.