Political Killing in NYC

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-07-25 07:29pm

This happened a few days ago, but I didn't see a discussion here, so...

NEW YORK (AP) - A gunman who managed to bring a weapon into City Hall opened fire inside City Council chambers Wednesday afternoon, killing a councilman who has crusaded against urban violence. A plainclothes police officer shot and killed the assailant, police sources said.

The shooter was a political opponent of the councilman, and had accompanied him into the building before the shooting, a police source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The gunman's ties to the councilman apparently allowed him to bypass security, the source told The Associated Press.

Brooklyn Councilman James Davis, a former police officer, died after being shot twice in the chest, a city official said.

His killer died a short time later at New York University Downtown Medical Center, according to police sources. The two mortally wounded men were found lying side by side in the balcony overlooking the chambers.

Davis, 41, an outspoken presence on the council, joined the police department in 1993, 10 years after he was allegedly beaten by two white officers.

In 1991, Davis, who was black and represented Brooklyn, started "Love Yourself Stop the Violence," a not-for-profit organization dedicated to stopping violence in urban America. He was elected in 2001, and was a minister.

The killer was sitting in the balcony near Davis when he suddenly shot the councilman, police sources said. The security officer, who was on the floor of the chamber, shot up at the gunman, striking him five times, according to the sources.

At least a dozen shots echoed across the second floor of City Hall, sending people diving for cover beneath their desks as the rotunda filled with screams.

"It was so loud you couldn't hear the direction," said City Council photographer Dan Luhmann. "At first, it was absolute stillness. And then people rushed out and ducked under their desks and it was chaotic."

The shooter was one of about 100 people on the balcony inside the second-floor council chambers when the gunfire erupted after 2 p.m, according to witnesses.

Security had been stepped up at City Hall since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. In addition to the metal detectors, a uniformed police officer is posted at the gate.

Employees, reporters with current press passes and police officers are not required to pass through metal detectors.

Police officers, including some in riot gear, swarmed nearby streets and the plaza in front of the building once the shooting stopped. The entrances and exits to the building were sealed off, and subways going into the City Hall station and nearby stations were shut down for about an hour. The Brooklyn Bridge was also shut down briefly.

The two victims were rushed from the front of the building on stretchers, loaded into ambulances and brought to a hospital.

Original Article

Bob McDob · Post by **Bob McDob** » 2003-07-25 07:38pm

It's too bad the assasin's already dead, so we can't kill him again.

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2003-07-25 07:42pm

As a NYer all I can say is this....when the news first hit the airwaves with the SOLE bit of information being "Shots fired in City Hall." Everyone in my office got REAL quiet and tense. We're still spooked and its been two years.

Xenophobe3691 · Post by **Xenophobe3691** » 2003-07-25 07:43pm

Wow. I'm guessing that maybe we wouldn't have wanted this guy in the council anyways...

Post by **RogueIce** » 2003-07-25 08:13pm

It's been posted. GO look for that one about City Hall shooting in NYC with two NYPD wounded or something like that.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-07-25 11:33pm

http://bbs.stardestroyer.net/viewtopic.php?t=26175

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-07-25 11:33pm

http://bbs.stardestroyer.net/viewtopic.php?t=26175