Avery Mills
Avery Mills, a Black man, was being taken toward jail in Rutherford County, North Carolina, by officers in 1900 when a mob took him from them. The mob carried him yards from the main road and shot him to death, and one account says the men were unmasked and that five of them were later arrested on bench warrants for the lynching and admitted to bail. The accounts differ on the date, placing the killing in May 1900 in one and on August 28, 1900 in the other. Neither account says whether the officers resisted the mob or handed him over.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. The Atlanta Constitution reports that a mob of about twelve took Avery Mills from officers, carried him from the road and shot him to death, and another account says unmasked men took him from officers taking him to jail and shot him repeatedly.
Reported by: The Atlanta Constitution, reporting from Rutherfordton, N.C. (reporters); Rutherford County, North Carolina newspaper report (reporters).