City Hall Shooting Leaves 2 People Dead

Mayor Michael Bloomberg himself walked through the metal detector at City Hall on Thursday morning, a day after a councilman allowed a rival politician to bypass security, leading to a shooting that left them both dead.

The attack Wednesday turned New York City’s seat of government into a crime scene, with screaming political aides and terrified visitors diving for cover.

Councilman James Davis, 41, a former police officer and ordained minister who campaigned against urban violence, was shot several times in the council chamber’s crowded balcony and died at a hospital.

A security officer fired up at his killer, Othniel Askew, 31, who died a short time later at the same hospital, police said.

“I heard bang, bang, bang, bang,” said councilman Mike Nelson. “I thought it was firecrackers. Then I heard people screaming, and then I saw people ducking.”

For a time before emergency workers arrived, the two fatally wounded men were lying side by side in the balcony.

As he arrived for work around 7:30 a.m. Thursday, Bloomberg set his keys and newspapers he was carrying on a conveyer belt and walked through a metal detector at the east gate.

“We have a city to run … the same city that Councilman Davis was trying to help,” Bloomberg said. “And the rest of us have a responsibility to his family and to 8 million people to continue.”

The shooting had raised new security questions at City Hall, a stately, 2-century-old landmark near the southern tip of Manhattan.

It was once so loosely guarded that passers-by could enjoy lunch on its sun-drenched steps. But stricter security was installed by Bloomberg’s predecessor, Rudolph Giuliani, then tightened further after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center, a short distance away.

Metal detectors were installed at each of two entrances to the grounds. But the mayor and council members were allowed to bypass them, and sometimes, as on Wednesday, their guests were, too.

A shaken Bloomberg told a news conference late Wednesday that there would no longer be exceptions – not even for himself. He was startled at his desk in City Hall when the gunfire erupted but was unharmed.

Askew had filed papers to oppose Davis in a three-way council race in this fall’s Democratic primary, Bloomberg said earlier. But he was not an official candidate because he had not filed enough petition signatures.

Davis spokeswoman Amyre Loomis said Davis and Askew had recently called a truce, and had met three times in recent weeks. When Askew showed up Wednesday at Davis’ office in Brooklyn and asked if they could go to City Hall together, Davis agreed.

But three hours before the shooting a man identifying himself as Askew had called the FBI’s New York office to allege that Davis was harassing him over the upcoming primary election, FBI spokesman Joe Valiquette said.

The men arrived at City Hall together at 1:45 p.m., Councilman Charles Barron said. Barron said Davis introduced him to Askew, saying, “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 was a witness as the gunman shot down at Davis’ prone body with a .40-caliber pistol. “He wasn’t shooting randomly,” Barron said.

Davis, who was black, joined the city police department in 1993, a decade after he was allegedly beaten by two white officers. He founded a not-for-profit organization, Love Yourself Stop the Violence, denouncing violent music lyrics and stores that sold realistic toy guns.

He was elected to the City Council in 2001, becoming active on public-safety issues and working to keep a check on excessive behavior by police. He had planned to introduce legislation on workplace violence Wednesday afternoon, Barron said.

The councilman was carrying a licensed gun, but police said he never had time to remove the weapon from its holster.

As many as 14 bullets rattled around the second floor of City Hall. City Council members and reporters in a nearby press room took cover under their desks.

Outside, police in riot gear swarmed nearby streets, and police tape blocked sidewalks. Sirens screamed, and confused downtown workers ran away from the building.

Subways under and near City Hall were shut down for about an hour. The Brooklyn Bridge, which pours eastbound cars onto streets that border City Hall, was also shut down briefly.

Later in the day, Davis was eulogized on the U.S. Senate floor by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who called the slaying of the anti-violence crusader “a tragic, terrible irony.”

Davis’ brother, Geoffrey Davis, said he was overwhelmed.

“I’m confused right now,” he said. “How could this have happened in City Hall?”

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On the Net:

City Council: http://www.council.nyc.ny.us