[Master Blaster]

By Paul Thomasch

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York lawmaker dedicated to stamping out gun violence was shot dead during a City Hall Council meeting on Wednesday by a political rival who was then killed by police, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

Bloomberg said Othniel Askew pulled out a gun on the balcony of the second floor City Hall chamber, one of the most tightly guarded buildings in America's most populous city, shortly after 2 p.m. and killed councilman James Davis, 41, who was also on the balcony.

"Witnesses say they saw Askew standing over Davis, repeatedly firing shots," Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said at a news briefing.

New York police then fatally shot Askew.

Askew, 31, had arrived at City Hall as Davis' guest and so did not have to pass through metal detectors, Bloomberg told a news briefing.

At the time of the shooting, Davis, a former police officer, was carrying a gun himself but did not have time to use it in his defense.

Askew was challenging Davis for the Democratic Party nomination in the upcoming city council elections. It was unclear what his motive might have been.

Bloomberg called the incident, "An attack on democracy."

"I've had some tough days in my life and in City Hall, but I don't think I've ever had a day as tough as this," said Bloomberg, who was in City Hall at the time of the shooting and was unharmed.


The businessman-turned-politician became mayor in January 2002, just months after the Sept. 11 hijacked plane attacks that killed about 3,000 people and destroyed the World Trade Center blocks from City Hall in lower Manhattan.


Davis, a black politician and church minister from Brooklyn, was a retired New York police officer and a former Rikers Island jail guard.


Almost a decade ago he founded "Love Yourself, Stop the Violence" -- a group dedicated to stopping violence in urban neighborhoods. One of his major achievements came in 1994, when he successfully lobbied the world's largest toy retailer Toys R Us to stop selling realistic-looking toy guns.


At the time of the shootings, the public gallery at City Hall was packed with children, in the chamber to hear a proclamation about an upcoming parade in the Bronx.


New York has been on highest security alert since the Sept. 11 attacks. Despite that, it was common practice at City Hall for security personnel to wave through familiar faces without checking them for weapons.


Bloomberg said that procedure would now change, with everybody having to enter the building through metal detectors, even the mayor himself.


"How could this have happened at City Hall? You tell me that," Davis's irate brother Jeffrey Davis said to reporters.


"The system killed my brother because my brother James Davis was not going to stop fighting the system," he said.


Council members described chaos inside the chamber.

"I heard a loud boom and 20 to 30 shots fired," Councilman David Weprin told reporters. "It was a machinegun type of

shot. Afterwards it looked like a war zone."

Legislators, their staff, the mayor's staff, visitors and reporters fled the building after the shooting, which took place during a discussion on whether to approve public pay toilets for a city notoriously devoid of such conveniences.

[El Tejon]

A gun banner was armed? How shocking!:rolleyes:

Didn't THR have a "liberal with guns" thread.

Guns are for me, not for thee, serf.:scrutiny:

[matis]

Quote:

One of his major achievements came in 1994, when he successfully lobbied the world's largest toy retailer Toys R Us to stop selling realistic-looking toy guns.
__________________________________________________________-




Let's be fair, now. Give credit where credit is due.


He wasn't killed with a toy gun, was he?

So his work to ban toy guns worked, didn't it?





I heard of a guy in Alaska who, twice each day, AM and PM, opened his window and shouted, "elephants be gone!"



Worked, too. Never was an elephant in his neck o' the woods.



So let's be fair, now. The anti-gunners are not completely stupid.




Matis

[Malone LaVeigh]

Well, and to be fair, being armed didn't do him a lot of good, either.

[DRC]

Being armed didn't help Davis much did it? But the security, that were armed and took out Askew, benefitted as many others may have as well. You cannot defend against a sneak attack.

Malone,

"USA to do list:

1) Finish the job.

2) Throw out the liars who got us into this mess."

All of this rhetoric is going to go up in so much smoke in the near future it isn't funny. BTW the liars that got us into this mess have already been thrown out: Bin Laden, Saddam and sons and all their ilk.

Take care,

DRC

[OF]

There's more to being armed than carrying a gun.

- Gabe

[Thumper]

All of this rhetoric is going to go up in so much smoke in the near future it isn't funny. BTW the liars that got us into this mess have already been thrown out: Bin Laden, Saddam and sons and all their ilk.

Coffee coming out of the nose hurts.

:D

[rock jock]

"The system killed my brother because my brother James Davis was not going to stop fighting the system," he said.
Right. The system is responsible, not the man who shot him.:barf: :barf:

[Silver Bullet]

Being armed didn't help Davis much did it?
There are no guarantees, only an improved probability of survival. What if the assailant misses me with his first sneak shot ? Or what if he shoots someone else first ? Right then I think I would very very very much prefer to be armed than not armed.

And if I'm down and disabled but not yet dead from his first shot, at least I won't be thinking "Stupid stupid stupid! Why did you leave your gun at home today?" during my last breaths.

[Destructo6]

rock jock, I have to add to you comments by saying that Davis enabled his killer to circumvent the system. He shares some measure of blame in his death.

[MPFreeman]

You got to love it that he was carrying a gun.....LOL

[Standing Wolf]

I heard of a guy in Alaska who, twice each day, AM and PM, opened his window and shouted, "elephants be gone!"

I think I'll try that and see what happens. If it scares away the elephants that might start trampling through my back yard...

[MN_Strelok]

El Tejon nailed it: Both parties were armed in a building where "regular" citizens aren't allowed to carry, in a city where firearms are essentially outlawed.

When guns are outlawed, only the elite will have guns. :uhoh:

Well, and to be fair, being armed didn't do him a lot of good, either.

No, it didn't. To be even fairer though, being armed did help the cops. ;)

[Oracle]

Lest we forget - being armed simply improves your options. A gun is not a magical talisman that wards away all evil. You still have to be able to employ it if it is to be effective. Of course, we probably all realize that.

[bad_dad_brad]

All I can say is, that incidents like this make me quote John Denver - "Far Out!"

[BowStreetRunner]

I feel for the man's brother, heaven knows i would be rather miffed if my brother was shot to death, and in a sense what he said makes some sense, just not in the manner he meant it i think
THE SYSTEM that allows the elites special privileges allowed the shooter to enter the building without being searched
now he did enter as a guest of the deceased councilman, and the assassin does bear the blame for the killing......
we should change THE SYSTEM that allowed this too happen!
no more special priviliges for the elite!
are you listening Feinstien?
now as i take of the logic mode the brothers comment was pretty dumb.....the system wasnt out to kill one of its one.....by trying to coddle one of their own they led to his own demise
BSR

[Desertdog]

Let's think this out a little!
He could have shot him just as dead BEFORE they entered the building, so, why didn't he?
Were there plans for other victims? We probably will never know, but it is a thought.
"They were both armed".
Were they legally armed or not. I have not heard either way.
I do feel sorry for the relatives of both of them. They are the ones that have to live with this.

[Giant]

Been a real tough week for those Davis folk.

I just hate it when stuff like this happens, all those democrats get so damn shrill!

Oh the humanity of it! What will the children think? Only 999999 more and they will be one million.


Giant

[spankaveli]

During a press conference, the Mayor (talking about Davis) said, "I don't know why he was carrying a gun. Guns kill people." :rolleyes:

[OF]

Sounds like just the ticket. What Davis needed was to pull that heater, get to work and do a little killing. That's the thing about guns, if you don't have one and you run into somebody that needs shooting...well you're pretty much out of luck aren't you.

- Gabe

[Master Blaster]

I want to know if Askew had a permit or was an ex policeman as well.

What were they disputing about, because I'm sure Davis would not have led him into the building if he suspected a thing. Davis was an ex NYC policeman and an ex Rikers Island guard, so he was street smart.

Did Askew normally carry a gun and blew a gasket in the brain pan? Or did he just bring one to do the deed?

What kind of gun was it he snuck past security???

Morbid curiosity.:uhoh:

[Master Blaster]

July 25, 2003 -- The City Hall killer was an HIV-positive man who made meticulous preparations for his own death before setting out to assassinate a political rival who he believed was blackmailing him because he was gay, law-enforcement sources said yesterday.

Before meeting up with his murder target - Brooklyn Councilman James Davis - Othniel Boaz Askew, 31, laid out on a living-room table his last will and testament, along with a detailed note to a brother specifying where all his bank accounts and other valuables were, police said.


Cops also found his HIV medications elsewhere in his fastidiously neat Fort Greene apartment.


No suicide note was discovered, but cops searching for a motive said they were looking through the contents of Askew's laptop.




Police sorted through evidence and witness testimonies yesterday and said the ambitious Askew was despondent over inability to get on the primary ballot against Davis. He also was enraged by his belief that Davis was doing everything possible to squeeze him out of the race.


"He just flipped out over the political rivalry," said one investigator. "He couldn't handle not running. It looked like he wanted to go out in a blaze of glory . . . and what bigger stage than City Hall?"


Law-enforcement sources said that hours before he gunned down Davis, Askew told the FBI the councilman had offered him $45,000 to give up a primary election challenge and threatened to hurt his family if he did not.


Askew also claimed Davis offered him an additional $15,000 annually and a no-show staff job. A City Council spokeswoman denied the allegations, and investigators said they had not corroborated Askew's claims.


But a well-placed source told The Post Davis had done a thorough background search on Askew, found records showing he had been involved in a gay domestic dispute in 1996, then used the information to blackmail Askew into withdrawing from the race.


The night before the killing, Askew had been hanging out at Charter-revision forum at the Brooklyn Public Library, where he was caught on tape by a local TV crew.


Police found a stack of political posters and flyers from past Davis campaigns in Askew's apartment.


While no independent toxicological studies have been released, police said they believe Askew was HIV positive. They said they found prescriptions for Paxil, Zarret and Viagra, as well as gay porn and sadomasochistic material.


Investigators said Askew bought a silver 40-caliber gun with a seven-shot clip in North Carolina in May 2001, and that Askew wore the gun in his waistband on Thursday. He had seven additional bullets hidden in his left sock, and cops speculated he had planned first to empty his gun on his opponent, then to painstakingly reload it.


All seven rounds were fired and every one hit Davis - two of them ripping through his body and out exit wounds.


A card found in Askew's pocket read "I am not a donor. I'm Jewish," they added.


Cops also found a bottle of Valium pills.


Investigators said that hours before City Hall erupted in gunfire, Askew and Davis argued at a Brooklyn barbershop, then drove to Manhattan with a Davis aide. It was unclear whether Askew planned to go into City Hall, or how he planned to evade metal detectors.


Court records show that had a history of domestic violence: the then-24 year-old Askew was arrested on Dec. 29, 1996 and charged with felony assault on charges that he beat his boyfriend with a hammer inside their West 43rd Street apartment. Mario Romero told cops that Askew "repeately struck (him) over his head, face and body with a hammer."


According to the criminal complaint, Romero had head wounds and lacerations over his body. Askew was never indicted and was allowed to plead guilty to second-degree harassment after promising to keep his nose clean for a year.


Askew was also arrested in Manhattan in 1999 under the name "Neal Askew" and charged with petit larceny after stealing a bag filled with about $900 worth of property, including jewelry and a cellphone, from a friend. The case was knocked down to a violation.


In addition, Askew was at the center of at least two nuisance suits: he unsuccessfully sued a ski lodge after a skiing accident in the 1990s, then sued a Fire Island gym for $1 millon in 1999, saying he had been injured doing bench presses. The case was thrown out after Askew refused to take a court-ordered physical exam.


Askew claimed to be an Orthodox Jew, a Yale Law School graduate, a Gulf War veteran, a real-estate developer, and a future senator.


Yale could not immediately confirm the claim, officials confirmed Askew had served in the Air Force, and there was no record of any real-estate development experience beyond work on his Brooklyn home. Neighbors in Long Island said he had been brought up as a Jehovah's Witness.


Described as a fast-talking charmer, the dapper Askew used several names, and had a reputation as an eccentric with an unlimited imagination. He also had a piercing gaze and a sometimes disturbing manner.


"He was slick," said neighbor Larry Caparaso, who lived near Askew on a street lined with million-dollar brownstones. "He could have been a con man. A professional con man."


Residents in Fort Greene said they had often seen him surrounded by mostly young, white supporters as he glad-handed locals dressed in a suit and wearing close-cropped hair.


"He was a little too friendly," said neighbor Dennis Canning. "He seemed nice, but there was something about his demeanor that made you a little uneasy. He was always assessing you, like he wanted to see into your soul. And I don't want anyone seeing into my soul."


Askew's father told the Post his son was born in Park Slope, schooled in Brooklyn and Babylon, L.I., and studied accounting at C.W. Post College. He worked for Roche in New Jersey and served in the Gulf War.


One neighbor in West Babylon, L.I., who did not want to be identified, described the young Othniel as "a very nice boy, very considerate.


"He was the kind of person who shoveled snow for you," the neighbor said.

[rock jock]

This is so bizarre. Violent gay con man murders armed gun-grabbing blackmailing politician. What a dang zoo NYC is.

[dinosaur]

You gotta be there to get the full effect.:D Bidnizz as usual. I`m just grateful it wasn`t the guy who`s name is on the bottom of the check wasn`t killed.:what: :neener:

[El Tejon]

I see a "Law & Order" episode!

This week on a very special "Law & Order" starring El Tejon as Special Prosecutor a really bizzare murder happens but the entire episode features El Tejon making time with the blonde hottie DA. Yum.:cool:

[Mark Tyson]

Curioser and curioser . . .

Sounds like a real sociopath to me. I heard that Askew had a permit to carry. Can anyone confirm/deny that?

[E357]

Not only did he have a carry permit, he also had (via CNN) two felony convictions (one was sealed). Even politician's aids are treated differently then the rest of us.

Elliot

[MPFreeman]

Two felony convictions?!?!? WOW! You got the link somewhere?