Shooting at NYC City Hall. 2 dead, including Concilman James Davis

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

Reporters diving for cover at City Hall.

Shots are coming from second floor.

[Petronski]

JUST CAUGHT THIS ON DU.COM:

There are several manufacturers who currently make ABS Plastic firearms that won't be detected by metal detectors. The hard part would be getting the bullets past them, but if you don't use jacketed bullets, and since bullets are usually lead, they may not set off the magnetic type detectors at all.

These are the firearms used by many Air Marshalls so that they don't have to deal with the security folks having a cow when they come through the screening at the airports, so it is likely that they really do not set the detectors off.

And yes, these are available in retail gun shops (not to mention through mail order).


HE DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE KIDDING. BWA HA HA HA HA!

[DittoJed2]

Understood. It's interesting, the candidate in that article is named Clarence. Maybe that's how the press got it screwed up. Was it Clarence Norman or Othniel Boaz Askew that shot Davis?

[floriduh voter]

I'm just glad I'm already on this thread. People who are getting off work are going to have a tough time getting on Free Republic.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Why run for Mayor, when he wants to be Sec. General of the UN?

[Lady Heron]

and the city is too darn busy and disorganized to enforce a certification/recertification program.

Since it is a constitutional right for you to own a gun (yes, even New Yorkers) certification is unconstitutional. The founders wanted you to be able to protect yourself as a God given right, not to go through yearly classes and inspections so that the government can track who can protect themselves. They wanted the government to be afraid of you, not to know where to round up all the guns when the time came they wanted to take that right away from you.

[bedolido]

This is amazing... over 800 posts. What is the posting record?

[DittoJed2]

I think it was the neverending story, several 10s of 1000s.

[floriduh voter]

Isn't the former Police Chief an advisor in Iraq? You know, Rudy's pal. The bald guy.

[TERMINATTOR]

The Second Amendment's form of security is legal, NY's is not. Just though someone ought to mention that.

Molon Labe!

[hellinahandcart]

Oh this is nothing, we had one over 7000 posts on election night alone.

[jimbo123]

"I don't think I've ever had as tough a day in 61 years as today," Bloomberg said at an early evening press conference. "Somebody who is an elected official of the City of New York has been killed, and they've been killed right here in City Hall."

[Lijahsbubbe]

Hmm. That does not sound good. He may have been very reckless indeed. His win at all costs style may have cost him dearly.

[Catspaw]

BL- "I don't know why people cary guns. Guns kill people."

Is there an emoticon for rolling one's eyes? Heck, DAVIS was carrying.

Earth to Bloomie....earth to Bloomie....come in, Bloomie....

[DittoJed2]

Was this posted?
NEW YORK (July 23) - A gunman who managed to bring a weapon into City Hall opened fire inside City Council chambers Wednesday afternoon, killing a councilman who 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, 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.

''Obviously, there was a breakdown someplace,'' said Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who was in his office at the time of the attack and unharmed. Bloomberg said the shooter did not go through the metal detector, and that all officials, including himself, must now go through the machines.

Brooklyn Councilman James Davis, a former police officer and outspoken presence on the council, died after being shot twice in the chest, a city official told the AP, also speaking on condition of anonymity.

The gunman, Othniel Askew, 31, died a short time later at a hospital, according to another police source. The two mortally wounded men were found lying side by side in the balcony overlooking the chambers.

Councilman Charles Barron said he encountered Davis and Askew outside City Hall on their way into the meeting. Davis introduced Askew, telling Barron, ''This is the guy who was once against me, but now he's with me.'' Askew offered a firm handshake and an intense stare, Barron said.

A short time later, Barron stood staring into the balcony as the gunman shot down at Davis' prone body.

''He wasn't shooting randomly,'' Barron said.

Davis, who was 41 and black, joined the police department in 1993, 10 years after he was beaten by two white officers, according to his Web site.

In 1991, Davis founded ''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 eyewitnesses.

Security had been stepped up at City Hall since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. In addition to the installation of 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, 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.

Sen. Hillary Clinton called the death of Davis, a man who devoted himself to law enforcement and stopping violence, ''a tragic, terrible irony.''

Davis' brother, Geoffrey, emerged from the hospital around 4:45 p.m.

''The system killed my brother,'' Davis said. ''They knew that he would fight. We're going to keep fighting and do the right thing.'' ---

[hellinahandcart]

I can't believe my eyes. NY1 has Davis' brother on right now claiming "the system" killed his brother, just like Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, because "the system" knew his brother would never stop fighting "the system".

This is turning into a damned farce in less than three hours.

Councilman Miguel Martinez phoning in now.

[DittoJed2]

Source: AP via AOL

[alisasny]

Bernie Kerik yes working over there.

[GovernmentShrinker]

Davis was carrying a gun [former police officer] and when the shooter started shooting at him, Davis pulled his gun and turned around and shot the shooter.

Er, what happened to the plain clothes police officer who supposedly shot Askew? Did Davis and the plain clothes officer both nail him?

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Family members can be an embarassment, in highly emotional situations.

[Sacajaweau]

This was a tough day for Bloomberg?? Thank God Guiliani was mayor on 9-11.