Murder At City Hall In NYC

A political rival shot and killed a councilman who crusaded against urban violence, opening fire Wednesday inside City Council chambers after bypassing security with his victim.

A plainclothes police officer shot and killed the assailant, who was a political opponent of the councilman and had accompanied him into the building, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. The gunman's ties to the councilman apparently allowed him to bypass security.

"Obviously, there was a breakdown someplace," said Bloomberg, who was in his office at the time of the attack and unharmed. Bloomberg said that all officials, including himself, will now be required to go through the machines, reports CBS News Correspondent Jim Axelrod.

Brooklyn Councilman James Davis, a former police officer and outspoken presence on the council, died from two gunshots to the chest as 14 bullets rattled across the landmark lower Manhattan building, authorities said.

The gunman, Othniel Askew, 31, died a short time later at a hospital, according to a police source. The two mortally wounded men were found lying side by side in the balcony overlooking the chambers.

City Hall erupted in chaos after the shots were fired, when it was unclear whether the gunman had escaped. As shots echoed across the second floor of City Hall, people dove for cover beneath their desks and the rotunda filled with screams.

"We were at my desk ... the city council meeting had not started the roll call and, all of a sudden, we heard a really, really loud shot, like really loud. And we dove under our desk. People were saying go under your desk,'' city councilwoman Gale Brewer told CBS.

"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."

Police officers, including some in riot gear, swarmed nearby streets and sealed entrances and exits to the building as they searched for the gunman. The Brooklyn Bridge was shut down, and subway service was suspended at the City Hall station and nearby stations for about an hour.

Askew had filed papers to oppose Davis in a three-way council race in this fall's Democratic primary, Bloomberg said.

Councilman Charles Barron said he encountered Davis and Askew outside City Hall on their way into the meeting. Davis introduced Askew, telling Barron, "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 stood staring into the balcony as the gunman shot down at Davis' prone body.

"He wasn't shooting randomly," Barron said.

Davis, who was 41 and black, joined the police department in 1993, 10 years after he was beaten by two white officers, according to his Web site.

In 1991, Davis founded "Love Yourself Stop the Violence," a not-for-profit organization dedicated to stopping violence in urban America. He was elected in 2001, and was a minister.

The shooter was one of about 100 people on the balcony inside the second-floor council chambers and was sitting near Davis when the gunfire erupted after 2 p.m, according to witnesses. The security officer, who was on the floor of the chamber, shot up at the gunman, striking him five times, said Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

Security had been stepped up at City Hall since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Besides the installation of metal detectors, a uniformed police officer is posted at the gate.

Employees and police officers were not required to pass through metal detectors.

Sen. Hillary Clinton called the death of Davis, a man who devoted himself to law enforcement and stopping violence, "a tragic, terrible irony."

Davis' brother, Geoffrey, emerged from the hospital around 4:45 p.m.

"The system killed my brother," Davis said. "They knew that he would fight. We're going to keep fighting and do the right thing."