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Davis, an outspoken presence on the council, joined the police department in 1983 after he was allegedly beaten by two white officers. In 1991, Davis, who is black, started "Love Yourself Stop the Violence," a not-for-profit organization founded to address growing urban violence.
N.Y. Councilman Dies in City Hall Gunfire
4 minutes ago Add Top Stories - AP to My Yahoo!
By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS, Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK - A City Council member who crusaded against violence was gunned down during a routine meeting Wednesday afternoon, and a plainclothes police officer in turn shot and killed the assailant on a second-floor balcony inside City Hall, police sources said.
Brooklyn Councilman James Davis, a former police officer, died after being shot twice in the chest, a city official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
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, where eyewitnesses said the gunman opened fire.
The shooter was a political opponent of Davis, and had accompanied the councilman into the building before the shooting, a police source said. The gunman's ties to the councilman apparently allowed him to bypass security, the source said.
Davis, an outspoken presence on the council, joined the police department in 1983 after he was allegedly beaten by two white officers. In 1991, Davis, who is black, started "Love Yourself Stop the Violence," a not-for-profit organization founded to address growing urban violence.
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, the sources said.
As gunfire echoed inside the landmark lower Manhattan building, people dove for cover and the rotunda was filled with screams. Police evacuated the building following the shooting.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who was unharmed, was inside his office on the same floor as the shooting. After hearing the gunshots, he stood up and asked what was going on before people fleeing the shooting began running into his office.
"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 and his victim were among 100 people in the balcony inside the second-floor council chambers when the gunfire began after 2 p.m, according to eyewitnesses.
"I looked up, and I saw someone shooting downward," said City Council member David Yassky. A security guard returned fire, according to Yassky.
Security, since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, was amped up at City Hall. Metal detectors were installed at either end of the plaza outside the building, along with metal barricades. A plainclothes police officer works the front door; only reporters with press cards, city employees and police officers can skip the security check.
"We do not know how someone got a gun in the building," Bloomberg said. "Obviously, there was a breakdown someplace."
The mayor quickly assured New Yorkers that the shootings were "a random attack" rather than an act of terrorism.
The two victims were rushed from the front of the building on stretchers, loaded into ambulances and brought to New York University Downtown Hospital with gunshot wounds, said hospital spokeswoman Vanessa Warner.
Police officers, including some in riot gear, swarmed nearby streets and the plaza in front of the building. Subways going into the City Hall station and nearby stations were shut down for about an hour, the Transit Authority said. The Brooklyn Bridge was also shut down briefly.
The City Council was holding a meeting on Wednesday, but council member Peter Vallone Jr. said there was nothing controversial on the day's agenda.
The entrances and exits to the building were sealed off, and a stretcher was rushed inside by police in flak jackets.
Associated Press Writers Tom Hays and Michael Weissenstein contributed to this story.
Originally posted by Freddie
The video shows the political rivals entering the building together. The did not go through the metal detector. In the mayor's speech, he said, "Effective immediately, everyone, including myself will go through the metal detectors."
Originally posted by chebob
the question is - will the Government use this as an excuse to "up" security even more?......it's the kind of thing they would stage to gain such an option, don't you think?
Originally posted by Freddie
Nah, it was a local politician, not a big wig. The security in that building is already very tight-- government building about a block from the WTC. They will now just make sure everyone, local big wig or not, goes through the metal detectors.
Originally posted by tututkamen
Originally posted by Freddie
Nah, it was a local politician, not a big wig. The security in that building is already very tight-- government building about a block from the WTC. They will now just make sure everyone, local big wig or not, goes through the metal detectors.
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I would hardly call a councilman a big wig and obviously security is not that tight. If I were mayor I would evacuate the building and search it. That is why I am not a Mayor.
Here we go they are already trying to turn this into a racial dispute