‘by an-eyewitness
On Sunday, 30th of January, a member of the Y.C.L. was shot down in the street by a s+ gun-man. The shooting occurred outside the Dolphin pub at the back of St. Pancras Town Hall; the victim, Tony Bloom, is a well-~ known anti-fascist, but he appears to have been merely unlucky on the night concerned... The trouble started earlier when a man appeared in the pub wearing a fascist arm-band. Since the Dolphin is well known for its Y.C.L. glient cle, he was obviously looking Yrouble. It was pointed out to him by myself and others that he should.leave the bar as his presence was provocat-~ ive, to this he retorted, "if the reds wanted trouble they would get it." I assumed he was mad and left it at that. Later as the bar was closing we started to sing The International as is the usual custom on Sunday nights. The character and his friends thereupon gave the nazi mlute. This caused a slight scuffle but no violence, We left the pub. and stood outside talking, after about ten minutes, the characters who given the nazi salute came. out sieg heiling, and they got into their van which was parked on the kerb. Some of the comrades engaged them in conversation while I started to let down their tyres, suddenly one of them waved a pistol at us and pulled the trigger two or three times: luckily for us it didn't off. ‘the van then drove away with two or three of us running after it. e van turned right down Euston Rd. and we assumed they had gone for good. Two minutes later we heard shots. We ran back to the pub and found Tony Bloom lying in the gutter, with his comrades cradj] ing his head - he. had. been shot in the stomach from a moving van. All of us on the left, regardless of political differences, must extend our solidarity and sympathy to the comrade concerned. We do not know whether this incident was the work.of one ‘psychopathic individual, or part of a broeder campaign of fascist violence. In the final analysis this is not important: of one thing we are sure: wherever we meet the fascists we shall t eat them in the manner they deserve, we shall not be intimidated.
Jim Scott, Hackney Central LPYS, Editorial note: many tebeorene of solidarity have been sent to Tony Bloom-in hospital, including ones from L.P.Y.S. branches, Rebel and the executive of the Vietnam Solidarity Campaign. A collection is | being made to send him ona holiday when he recovers. His address is: Tony Coen: Ward 13, University College Hospital, Gower St., London W.C.1.