http://story.news.yahoo.c...ll_gunfire

By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS, Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK - A gunman opened fire during a meeting inside City Council chambers Wednesday afternoon, killing a city councilman who has crusaded against urban violence.


Another person was wounded. It was unclear if it was the gunman.


Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who was in his City Hall office at the time of the shooting, confirmed that one person was killed and ruled out terrorism.


A city official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that Brooklyn Councilman James Davis, a former police officer, died after being shot twice in the chest.


The second victim was not identified, but Bloomberg said both were "seriously hurt."


"It appears to be a random act, but we cannot allow this to go on, ever. This is an attack on all Americans," Bloomberg said.


Police in riot gear shut down lower Manhattan as they searched for the shooter in and around City Hall.


Davis, 41, 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 dedicated to stopping violence in urban America. He was elected in November 2001, and is a minister.


At least a dozen shots echoed across the second floor of City Hall in lower Manhattan, sending people diving for cover beneath their desks as the hall's rotunda filled with screams.


"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 was one of about 100 people on the balcony inside the second-floor council chambers when the gunfire began after 2 p.m, according to eyewitnesses.


Joel Rivera, the City Council majority leader, said Davis was in the balcony talking to the shooter when the gunman "pulled out a silver gun, possibly a revolver." Rivera told CNN the shooter may have gotten into City Hall with a Davis staffer.


Security had been stepped up at City Hall since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Metal detectors were installed at either end of the barricades. A uniformed police officer is posted at the gate.


Employees, reporters with current press passes and police officers are not required to pass through metal detectors. It was not immediately clear how the gunman got a weapon inside.


It was unclear if the shooter remained at large, or whether he was one of the two men in the hospital, police said. Police sought a man in a blue suit in connection with the shooting, which continued for about three minutes.


"I looked up, and I saw someone shooting downward," said City Council member David Yassky. A security guard returned fire, according to Yassky.


Police officers, including some in riot gear, were seen running across the plaza in front of the building once the shooting stopped. The entrances and exits to the building were sealed off.

The two victims were rushed from the front of the building on stretchers, loaded into ambulances and brought to New York University Downtown Hospital, said hospital spokeswoman Vanessa Warner.

An emergency worker said the two victims were lying side by side in the balcony, both with bullet wounds to the chest.

god, what is happening in this country?

thats HORRIBLE...

this world scares me...

cborgman said:

It's just a random crazy, honey, don't get to upset.