Aspiring politician shoots rival to death in City Hall

AN aspiring politician strolled past a metal detector at tightly guarded City Hall in New York — escorted by the councilman he once hoped to replace — then pulled a gun in the crowded balcony of the council chamber and shot his rival to death.

The attack on Wednesday turned New York City's seat of government into a crime scene, with screaming political aides and terrified visitors diving for cover. A security officer fired up at the gunman, killing him with five bullets.

Councilman James Davis, 41, a former police officer and ordained minister who campaigned against urban violence, was struck several times in the torso and died at a hospital. He had planned to introduce legislation on workplace violence that afternoon.

His killer, Othniel Askew, 31, died a short time later at the same hospital, police said.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the attack "strikes at the very essence of democracy."

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. 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.

Three hours before the shooting a man identifying himself as Askew called the FBI (news websites)'s New York office to allege that Davis was harassing him over the upcoming primary election, FBI spokesman Joe Valiquette said.

The shooting raised new security questions at City Hall, a two-century-old stately landmark near the southern tip of Manhattan, no more than a five-minute walk from the World Trade Center site.