2 Said Hurt in Gunfire at N.Y. City Hall
by TIMOTHY WILLIAMS
The Associated Press
Wednesday, July 23, 2003; 2:57 PM
NEW YORK - A gunman opened fire inside the City Council chambers Wednesday afternoon during a hearing, wounding at least two people, a council member said. Police were still searching for the shooter.
At least a dozen shots echoed across the second floor of the landmark lower Manhattan building, sending people diving for cover beneath their desks as the hall's rotunda filled with screams.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg was in his office but was not harmed, said his spokesman, Edward Skyler.
Two victims were rushed from the front of the building on stretchers and loaded into ambulances.
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.
"I looked up, and I saw someone shooting downward," said City Council member David Yassky. A security guard returned fire, according to Yassky.
A second witness, City Council attorney Tom Curry, said a man pulled a handgun and began firing across at a second man.
Police sought a man in a blue suit in connection with the shooting, which continued for about three minutes.
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, which are secured by metal detectors, were sealed off, and a stretcher was rushed inside by police in flak jackets. It was not immediately clear how anyone got a gun inside.
© 2003 The Associated Press |
