The Little Brown Reader: Councilman Is Shot to Death in City Hall

July 24, 2003

Councilman Is Shot to Death in City Hall

For some reason, the version of this story that TruthOut has posted on their site doesn't match the original that they link to. Also, truthOut lists two authos of the story, but only one of those two is listed on the NYT story. Here's both:

t r u t h o u t - NY City Councilman / Community Activist Assassinated in City Hall

By Daniel J. Wakin and Carla Baranauckas
The New York Times

Wednesday 23 July 2003

Gunfire erupted in City Hall this afternoon, killing Councilman James E. Davis of Brooklyn and the gunman, an apparent political rival of the councilman, and sending other council members diving under their desks, city officials said.

Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said in a news conference late this afternoon that the shooting occurred at 2:08 p.m. in the balcony of the City Council chamber, as the council meeting was in progress.

Mr. Davis and the gunman, 31-year-old Othniel Askew, were both in the balcony of the second-floor council chamber after entering City Hall together and bypassing metal detectors a short time earlier, Mr. Kelly said.

Full story

NYT -- Councilman Is Shot to Death in City Hall

By MICHAEL COOPER

New York City councilman was killed inside City Hall yesterday 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 Mr. Davis had been shot, officials said.

The shooting stirred panic in the nearly 200-year-old seat of city government as officials initially believed that a gunman was still loose. City Hall was sealed, the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges were briefly closed, subway trains bypassed stops near City Hall, and several nearby streets were barricaded. The crush of heavily armed police officers flooding the area - just blocks from the World Trade Center site - once again had New Yorkers fearing that a terrorist attack had taken place.

Full story

Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 75%

(I gave the story a freedom rating of one, because it might lead to the end of the class system when it comes to weapons checks and metal detectors at courthouses and public buildings. No offense intended to Councilman Davis, who sounds like he was a great guy.)

Posted by Lance Brown at July 24, 2003 01:31 AM | TrackBack

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