A New York City councilman was killed inside City Hall Wednesday afternoon by a political opponent who accompanied him to a Council meeting, pulled out a pistol and shot him in front of scores of stunned lawmakers and onlookers, officials said.
The gunman was instantly shot and killed by a police officer assigned to City Hall, who fired six shots from the Council floor to the balcony where the councilman, James E. Davis, had been killed, officials said.
Investigators said the killing might have stemmed from a simmering political dispute between Councilman Davis, 41, of Brooklyn, and the gunman, Othniel Askew, 31, who had planned to challenge Davis this fall for his seat representing central Brooklyn in the Council.
Askew had been able to slip his gun into City Hall by accompanying the councilman, who did not have to pass through metal detectors, officials said.
Law enforcement officials said Askew made a complaint to the Federal Bureau of Investigation just yesterday morning accusing Davis of trying to drive him from the Council race, first by offering him a job and then by threatening to disclose unflattering personal information about him. But the councilman’s office said that Askew had failed to collect enough signatures to get on the ballot and that it was Askew who had approached the councilman about a job.
Wednesday, Askew showed up at the councilman’s office at midday and asked if he could accompany Davis to the Council meeting, and Davis obliged, officials said.
“It looked like a war zone,” Councilman David I. Weprin said, describing the chaotic chamber.
Davis, 41, is a former New York City police officer who was a founder of Love Yourself, Stop the Violence, a community non-profit organization.
Eyewitness say a man on a second floor balcony pulled out a gun and began firing at a second man. Witnesses say a security guard returned fire.
“I looked up at the balcony and I saw an individual walk across the balcony with a gun and he was pointing at something in the balcony and started to fire. At that point, everyone started to realize what was going on,” Councilman Tony Avella told NY1 in a phone interview. “I did see him walk across with the gun pointed. I did not hear him say anything. The shots rang out across the chamber so loud, you could not hear anything but that. He did manage to get off a number of shots. Quite a large number, I thought.”
City Hall was immediately evacuated, police have secured the area outside the building, and the NYPD has initialized a Level One mobilization, meaning they are treating the incident as a terrorist attack. However, police stress there is no reason to believe this incident is related to terrorism.
Ambulances responded to the scene, and stretchers were brought into the building. Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s spokesman says the mayor, who was in his office at the time of the shooting, is unharmed.
It is unclear whether the gunman has been apprehended or not. However, there are reports police are seeking a man in a blue suit in connection with the shooting and the Brooklyn Bridge and a number of streets have been closed.
New York City hall is one of the most secure buildings in New York City and questions have been raised about how the gunman entered the building. The metal detector that is used for the building is one of the most sensitive in the US. The location is also very close to 1 Police Plaza and the entire area is surrounded by security cameras.
Questions immediately arose about how a gun could be sneaked into City Hall. Both entrances for those who have business there have metal detectors and X-ray machines like those used at airports. But city officials sometimes bypass the detectors.
“We do not know how someone got a gun into the building,” Mayor Bloomberg said. “We have security. Obviously, there was a breakdown some place.”
Earlier, he said: “The place that it took place, in the City Council chambers, strikes at the very essence of democracy. We will not rest until we catch the person.”
After the shooting, the police sealed off the entrances to the building and closed streets around it, clearing paths for ambulances. Wearing bullet-proof vests and helmets, they coursed through the hallways.
The nearby Brooklyn Bridge was shut down, and crime scene tape was strung in front of the entrance of the historic building.
The shooting began as the council session had just gotten under way. About 20 council members were present, and about 150 people in all were inside, Weprin said.
Councilman Charles Barron of Brooklyn said the police had ordered members to stay inside the chambers. He said the man with the gun appeared to be targeting somebody in the chamber balcony.
“I saw him walking right by people and shooting in a downward position,” he told Channel 2. “I know I heard at least four or five shots myself. He was just squeezing. He was just pulling off the rounds, shot after shot.”
Source: AP; NY1, New York Times