Outing threat may have sparked shooting

[davidinalameda]

http://www.advocate.com/new_news.asp?ID=9378&sd=07/24/03

Just hours before 31-year-old Othniel Boaz Askew killed New York City councilman James E. Davis in the city council chamber Wednesday, a man identifying himself as Askew called the FBI and complained that Davis had threatened to out him as a gay man, The New York Times reports. "Late this morning, a caller who identified himself as Askew alleged that he was the victim of harassment by Councilman Davis in connection with the upcoming primary election. He expressed no intention to cause harm to Councilman Davis," FBI spokesman James Margolin said on Wednesday. Askew was himself fatally shot by authorities just moments after he shot Davis. Davis, by many accounts, was one of the strongest supporters of gay rights on the city council.

[newyorican]

1. donning the tin foil hat

This "contact" the gunman had with the FBI prior to the shooting has sent my COINTELPRO radar absolutely bonkers.

*sound of me removing tin foil hat, carefully folding it and placing nearby*

*sound of me looking around, feeling somewhat paranoid*

[Chovexani]

2. No tinfoil needed, this guy was nucking futz

Local news (WNBC) had a story about Askew on the 5p news, the guy was nuttier than Grandma's fruitcake. Had a long history of violence. On his rap sheet was a particularly brutal incident last year where he flew into a rage and beat his then-lover in the head repeatedly in a hammer, the guy was lying naked in the street with blood all over the place. He ended up getting an order of protection against Askew and was moved around to friends' houses for a while because he was fearful for his life. Now it's being said Askew was practically stalking Davis and showed up at his office the day before the shooting.

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, and sometimes a nut is just a nut.

[newyorican]

3. That wouldn't be a *lone nut* would it?

:tinfoilhat:

Note: The NYPD Officer that shot Askew is, currently, an officer in the intelligence bureau.

On Edit: An intelligence officer that was assigned that duty the day before, an officer that has never before served at City Hall before.

[Bushfire]

4. and was promoted to Detective before the body was even cold

how GOP of Bloomberg.

[Pallas180]

5. Congratulations FBI on your follow-up. The problem with the FBI

is that they force retirement at 55. Therefore you have
a bunch of inexperienced people with no mentors, advisors
guiding them.

Brilliant.

[bushisanidiot]

6. Let Me Try On That Hat

So many things are strange about this. Both victims were packing.. fine, whatever. Davis took his killer in with him past the magnometers, witnesses said they saw a man in his 40's dressed in a blue suit fleeing the scene, then it turned into a man in a tan suit.

There are also conflicting reports about the number of shots fired.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030723/ts_nm/crime_shooting_dc_3 Here they say:

"We heard a shot or two. They told us to duck under our desks," Councilman David Weprin said in a telephone interview with NY1 News TV station. "There were a lot of shots, maybe 20 or 30 shots. It's like a war zone here."

<22 - 32 shots - don't know who shot who.>


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20030723/ts_alt_afp/us_shooting_030723194145

Here they say: "I saw two men walking on the balcony and then one stopped, and all of a sudden there was a gun and then he fired shots into a person in front of him," McMahan told CNN.

"There was a brief pause and another shot and it appeared that the shooter was struck," McMahan said. "Then all pandemonium broke out."

<Davis shot more than once from someone on the balcony then a pause then another shot and it looked like the shooter was shot. Then more gunfire (all pandemonium broke out).>

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nyt/20030724/ts_nyt/councilmanisshottodeathincityhall

"A New York City councilman was killed inside City Hall yesterday afternoon by a political opponent who accompanied him to a Council meeting, pulled out a pistol and shot him in front of scores of stunned lawmakers and onlookers, officials said.

The gunman was then fatally shot by a police officer assigned to City Hall, who fired six shots from the floor of the Council chamber to the
balcony where the councilman, James E. Davis, had been killed, officials said. "

Later in the same article:

"The gunfire more than a dozen shots in quick succession erupted at 2:08p.m. in the Council's crowded mahogany-paneled chamber on the second floor of City Hall, where members were just minutes away from beginning a meeting.

David Yassky, a Brooklyn councilman, said: "It was a couple of minutes
before the Council was going to start. And then a shot rang out from the balcony. I looked up and I saw somebody shooting downward, pointing his gun to the floor."

Arielle Altman, 21, a college senior whose father works for the Council, said she was in the balcony when she saw three men sit down at the end of her row. She now knows that two of them were Mr. Davis and Mr. Askew, she said. A few minutes later the two men got up and walked by her. When they got to the end of the row, she said, one man shot the other from behind.

"It looked like they were walking out," said Ms. Altman, who was sitting so close that her ears were ringing for 15 minutes after the shooting. Witnesses said Mr. Askew continued to shoot Mr. Davis even after he fell to the ground. Mr. Davis was shot in the torso six or seven times. "

<Policeman fired only 6 shots, more than a dozen shots in quick succession by someone, Davis shot 6 or 7 times by the gunman.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030724/ap_on_re_us/ny_city_hall_shooting_1

"As many as 14 bullets rattled around the second floor of City Hall during the gunfire. City Council members and reporters in a nearby press room took cover under their desks.

"I heard bang, bang, bang, bang," said City Councilman Mike Nelson,
who was in the chamber. "I thought it was firecrackers. Then I heard
people screaming, and then I saw people ducking."

Here's what I think happened: Davis was paying Askew to be his bodyguard to protect him from (whomever.. disgruntled white police officers). The police officer (the real gunman in a blue suit) fired first, killing Davis. Askew stood over Davis and drew out his gun to fire back at the officer. The pause was due to the officer hit Davis and didn't realize Askew had a gun until he fired it in his direction. Then all hell broke loose with both the police officer and Askew firing several rounds at each other, Askew missed the police officer and Askew was hit in the process.

Why were witnesses saying a man in a blue suit fled the scene? Why was the mayor so quick to say it wasn't terrorism before all the facts were in??