Gunman kills employee and 2 unarmed police officers in NYC
Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 2:23 pm
This is absurd...
NEW YORK -- A gunman rampaged through a strip of restaurants and bars in a trendy Manhattan neighborhood, killing two unarmed volunteer police officers and a pizzeria employee, the mayor said.
Regular police officers then shot and killed gunman David Gavin, who had a bag with a fake beard, two guns and 100 rounds of ammunition, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said early Thursday.
A neighborhood resident, Tina Lourenco, said she saw the gunman and recognized him as a former employee of the pizzeria.
"Tonight was a horrible night for the New York Police Department and for our city," Bloomberg said. "Two men who volunteered their time to make our city the safest big city in America lost their lives helping to keep it exactly that way."
The bedlam began around 9 p.m. Wednesday, when Gavin, 32, went into De Marco's Pizzeria in Greenwich Village, the mayor said. Gavin asked for a menu and then shot an employee 15 times in the back, Bloomberg said. Police identified the employee as Alfredo Romaro, 35.
Gavin fled, and nearby police who had heard the shots radioed information about the gunman. Auxiliary Officers Nicholas Todd Pekearo and Eugene Marshalik, on their regular patrol nearby, came toward Gavin, who crossed the street and fired at them. Auxiliary officers are civilian volunteers who wear uniforms, are unarmed and help patrol streets.
"(Gavin) literally crossed the street ... to kill them in cold blood," Bloomberg said of the gunman.
Gavin then exchanged gunfire with uniformed officers, who shot him, the mayor said. Several uniformed officers suffered minor injuries. Authorities recovered the 9mm semiautomatic pistol Gavin fired, plus a .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun in a bag with the ammunition, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. Gavin shot at least 23 rounds.
"He appeared to be ready to take even more lives," said Kelly.
Pekearo, 28, was a writer with a book scheduled to be published soon, the mayor said. Marshalik, 19, a student at nearby New York University, had immigrated from Russia, Bloomberg said. The mayor said Marshalik hoped eventually to join the police force.
http://www.wnbc.com/news/11255505/detai ... =mainclick
NEW YORK -- A gunman rampaged through a strip of restaurants and bars in a trendy Manhattan neighborhood, killing two unarmed volunteer police officers and a pizzeria employee, the mayor said.
Regular police officers then shot and killed gunman David Gavin, who had a bag with a fake beard, two guns and 100 rounds of ammunition, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said early Thursday.
A neighborhood resident, Tina Lourenco, said she saw the gunman and recognized him as a former employee of the pizzeria.
"Tonight was a horrible night for the New York Police Department and for our city," Bloomberg said. "Two men who volunteered their time to make our city the safest big city in America lost their lives helping to keep it exactly that way."
The bedlam began around 9 p.m. Wednesday, when Gavin, 32, went into De Marco's Pizzeria in Greenwich Village, the mayor said. Gavin asked for a menu and then shot an employee 15 times in the back, Bloomberg said. Police identified the employee as Alfredo Romaro, 35.
Gavin fled, and nearby police who had heard the shots radioed information about the gunman. Auxiliary Officers Nicholas Todd Pekearo and Eugene Marshalik, on their regular patrol nearby, came toward Gavin, who crossed the street and fired at them. Auxiliary officers are civilian volunteers who wear uniforms, are unarmed and help patrol streets.
"(Gavin) literally crossed the street ... to kill them in cold blood," Bloomberg said of the gunman.
Gavin then exchanged gunfire with uniformed officers, who shot him, the mayor said. Several uniformed officers suffered minor injuries. Authorities recovered the 9mm semiautomatic pistol Gavin fired, plus a .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun in a bag with the ammunition, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. Gavin shot at least 23 rounds.
"He appeared to be ready to take even more lives," said Kelly.
Pekearo, 28, was a writer with a book scheduled to be published soon, the mayor said. Marshalik, 19, a student at nearby New York University, had immigrated from Russia, Bloomberg said. The mayor said Marshalik hoped eventually to join the police force.
http://www.wnbc.com/news/11255505/detai ... =mainclick