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SINGLE COPY—PRICE lOeCHANUTE, KANSAS, 66720, WEDNESDAY. JANUARY 10, 1973Dead Sniper Hated WhitesEMPORIA, Kan. (AP) — Mark J. Essex’s hometownminister says the young black identified as a sniper killed in New Orleans hated whites. But the local police chief saysthere’s no evidence here thatEssex was connected with militant racial groups.The Rev. W. A. Chambers, pastor of St. James BaptistChurch who baptized Essex, says “he always got along fine as a boy. But something happened when he went into the Navy.”When Essex left the Navy nearly three years ago after serving 13 months he caine home “hating white folks,” the F.ev. Mr. Chambers added.Essex, 23, was identified as the young sniper killed by police Sunday in the bizarre New Orleans hotel shooting spree which left six other persons dead and 17 injured.Authorities in New Orleans are not certain whether Essex acted alone or if more than one sniper was involved.Merle Hayes, the police chief in this city of 19,000, said Tuesday that “we have no evidence to support” speculation that Essex was associated with militant groups.John Collier, one of Essex’ friends who went with him to New Oreans about six months ago, agreed. Asked if Essex was a member of the Black Muslim ''oilier said:“No. t .mow he wasn’t associated with them. He didn’t believe in them.”Collier said he returned to Kansas City, but Essex found a job and remained in New Orleans.Chief Hayes said Essex had only two minor traffic violations on his record in Emporia. He had another speeding violation in Pittsburg, where he attended Kansas State Teachers College for one semester before entering the Navy.The Rev. Mr. Chambers, speaking f/rom a Topeka hospi-ta where he is a patient, said he tried to work with Esex on his new-found hatred for wiiiteswhen he returned home fromthe Navy.The Rev Mr. Chambers said “His mother tried to talk to him, too, but he just wouldn't listen. He just hated white folks.”The Essex family — the parents, a daughter and three other sons — were reported in seclusion.The minister’s wife said Essex “came home from the Navy and he couldn’t keep a job. He couldn’t stand taking orders from white people.”Essex enlisted in the Navy here Jan. 13, 1969, A Navy spokesman in Washington saidCommittee appointments in the Kansas House of Representatives were announced Tuesday by Duane McGill, speaker of thehouse.Area legislators received the following assignments:Fred Harris, Chanute, chairman of Transportation and Utilities: Clvde Hill. Yates Ccntpr.he was given a general discharge for unsuitability Feo. 10, 1970. “A discharge of this type,” the spokesman said, involves “character and behavior disorders.”Chief Hayes said the family had “reacted like any family would in a similar situation. Of course they were shocked and I think the community has a responsibility to help them recover from this.”Friends describe the youth’s father as a hard worker all his life — much of that as a foreman at Fanestil Packing Co., where his son worked twice for brief periods.Agriculture and Livestock and of Commercial and Financial Institutions.Senate committees were announced Monday. Assignments included Chanute’s Cale Hudson to Conservation and Natural Resources: Judiciary; and Assessment and Taxation. He was alsonampH vir*r rhairmnn nf T n.House Assignments ListedScrap}
Newspaper Details
Chanute Tribune
Chanute, Kansas, US
Wed, Jan 10, 1973
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Salina P.
KS, USA 17 Jul 2023
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