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16th Street Church Bombing — Part 11

69 pages · May 08, 2026 · Broad topic: Terrorism · Topic: 16th Street Church Bombing · 69 pages OCR'd
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Addie Mae Collins, 14, of 232 Sixth Court { Qne jekilds head was blown off by the ier “chests of others were a bloody mass. JOSEPH PARRISH, chairman of the board of trus- “of the church, said the children kiNed had apparent- gone into the basement. where the women's restroom is located, before the general assembly for Sunday School was to’ start. Sunday school had started‘at 9:30 am, The blast, judging hy a stupped clock in the church, oceurred at 40:22 a.m. Fifteen other Negroes were trealed at University Hospital for multiple lacerations caused by flying brick and mortar and glass when the bomb went off at the church. Several others were hurt but did not seek hos- pital treatment. Several white pennte csere hreacht “nia the haspiia! within an hour of the explosion, Thes pad been hit hy bricks thrown by angry Negroes near the bombed ehurch, The blast prought quick reaction. same ef it hloody. A Negro veuth was fatally shot by Birmingham po- lice officers in an alley off 26th Street North, near. Eighth , Avenue, about 4 p.m. Sunday. Powe cadd fhe | Negro was throwing recks at antemobiles passing along 26th Street. Officers said they fired over his ficail.” inst he apparently was stuck by oM® Of The - shots, r THE NEGRO WAS IDENTIFIED as Johnnie Rohin- Son, 16, of #22 28h St. North. Investigators vot the city’s Fire Prevention Bureau found shreds of material which they identified as burned! fuse near the scene of the explosion, outside the 16th Street side entrance. The fire marshal theorized that 10 sticks of dynamite did the work. He speculated thar the “bomber could have parked Ms cara bleck fom che church, lighted a fuse 1A feet. fon. oor More ope the dveamite in a shoe box ar wrapped tn heavy paper, then walked to the {6th Street side of the church. There he could have dropped his package into the stairwell, whieh ended four feet below the sidewalk level at the hasement door, Then he could have walked - slowly hack to his car and gone several blocks before the explesian cane.” t rj ih doonnw he. fiise of the type ne- 5 re f nurns “40 seconds to the fort." The jaia—g2id no brass particles or other metal quasfoupd near the scene, Which bolstered his belief that the blast was caused by dynamite sticks set off with a lighted fuse rather than a bomb and timing device. ~..- - At Montgomery, Wallace iss ed this stat ““The church bombing in Birmingham , toda tragic event which has saddened ail -Alabamians. “The perpetrators of this vicious crime must be brought to justice, _“T serve notice on those responélble. “that every law enforcement agency of this state will be used to apprehend them. “ALL AVAILABLE LAW ENFGRCEMENT agencies of the state of Alabama, including the Birmingham units of the Alabama National Guard not now fed- eralized, have been alerted for duty in Birmingham. "Col, Al Lingo, state director cf nublic safety has heen in constant touch with Birmingham Police Chief Jamie Moore and has advised Chief Moore that the en- fire state trooper contingent is available for immediate use in Birmingham. “T have offered a reward of $5,000 for the arrest and conviction of person or persons responsible for the bombing this morning.” Police Capt, Jack Warren credited work of an unnamed Negro Civil Defense captain for preventing an outbreak of violence at the church following the explosion. “T FEARED FOR MY LIFE,” said Warren, who was one of the first officers to reach the scene. ‘I tried to disperse the crowd with my megaphone, but was having no luck. Then the Negro Civil Defense official came up wilh his bullhorn. He set up ropes and the crowd grad- ually dispersed.” “———Hegrnes threw rocks and bricks at potice when they Police fired shotgun blasts aver the heads of Negroes near the church in attempts to disperse the erowd at first. An hour after the blast, police reported the crowd was “pretty orderty.”' The church, a brick structure constructed in (804) was a tragic sight atter the blast. Broken glass covered its 6th Street side. Numbed parents and relatives of chil- dren in the Sunday School wandered about in silence. “Oh. my God. That’s my kid... she’s dead... she’s dead,” a Negro man screamed as a Small twisted hody was lifted from the ruins. first arrived, POLICE KEPT HIM FROM running through the gap- ing hole in side of the church as the child was Piaced an a stretcher. Hysterical screams from Negroes who had children attending Sunday School at the church echoed around the church. A car bearing a Confederate flag drove up lo the church and Negroes began shouting and yelling Police made the driver remove the flag. Occupants of the vehicle said’ Negroes had thrown a rock througn the front window near the church, Gunfire sounded along Eighth Avenue North as police fired in the air to disperse rock-throwing Negroes. The city’s riot tank roamed the alleys and streels. Police radios blared as more ambulances were cleared to enter the area. All shifts of police were called and ordered te report to Kelly Ingram: Park, across fron the church. POLICE LINES WERE SET UP and traffic was re-
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