Surveillance Video Shows Shooting of Volunteer Officer
NEW YORK (AP) -- A gunman's bloody rampage through a crowded Manhattan neighborhood likely would have killed more people had two unarmed police volunteers not intervened, losing their own lives in the process, police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Thursday.
Kelly praised the work of Auxiliary Officers Nicholas Todd Pekearo and Eugene Marshalik and showed reporters surveillance video of Pekearo ducking behind a car before he was fatally shot as the gunman hovered over him.
Both volunteers followed the gunman, 32-year-old David Garvin, who then turned on them, fatally shooting both, police said. Garvin then exchanged fire with full-time officers, dying on the scene.
The shooting started at a nearby restaurant, where Garvin, wearing a fake beard, shot and killed a bartender.
Witness Andy Paul, standing outside a club where his band was about to perform, saw people milling about, enjoying one of the first warm evenings of the year. Then he saw the man with the gun.
"He was running this way putting a new clip in,'' the 28-year-old singer said Thursday. "He turned around, firing at the cops.''
"I hit the ground,'' Paul said. "I wasn't paying attention to anything. I just didn't want to get shot.''
When it was all over, Garvin's body lay bloodied and askew outside a shop, a gun lying on the sidewalk steps away. He had been carrying two semiautomatic firearms and a bag with a fake beard and 100 rounds of ammunition, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
VIDEO: Neighborhood Stunned by Killings
Police were trying to uncover what prompted the rampage, which began at around 9 p.m., when Garvin went into De Marco's Pizzeria and Restaurant, asked for a menu, then shot an employee 15 times in the back, Bloomberg said. Police identified the victim as Alfredo Romaro, 35.
A neighborhood resident, Tina Lourenco, said she saw the gunman and recognized him as a former employee of the locale. But Dominick De Marco Jr., whose sister runs the pizza parlor, told The New York Times the shooter was probably a former customer.
Garvin fled, and nearby police who had heard the shots radioed information about the gunman. Pekearo and Marshalik, on their regular patrol nearby, came toward the gunman, who fired at them. Auxiliary officers, civilian volunteers who wear uniforms nearly identical to those of police officers, are unarmed and help patrol streets.
Garvin then exchanged gunfire with full-time officers, who shot him, police said.
"He appeared to be ready to take even more lives,'' Kelly said.
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 younger man joined the auxiliary force after deciding he wanted to become a prosecutor, Tatyana Kochergina said at her cousin's suburban Valley Stream home.
"He would say he really enjoyed it,'' said Kochergina, 21. "He got along with everybody on the squad. Sometimes he would ride along with the NYPD. He felt like it was where he wanted to be.''
"He was just a kind-hearted individual who could make anyone smile. A brilliant, brilliant young man. ... He was amazing,'' Kochergina said before becoming too distraught to continue talking.
A profile under the teenager's name on the social networking Web site facebook.com lists his interests as "Political/Economic discussion, New York City, Law, Law Enforcement, The Mets.'' Among his favorite TV shows: "The Simpsons.''
Charles Jottras, 22, witnessed the last moments of the gunman's encounter with the police from his fourth-floor apartment window.
After hearing noises he thought were firecrackers, he looked outside and saw three officers approaching the Village Tannery. Soon, a man came out with his hands on his head -- apparently a customer -- who then left, Jottras said.
Then shots were fired, apparently inside the store. And moments later, the gunman came out shooting at the police, who then shot the gunman dead. Soon, dozens of officers were swarming the area.
The exchange occurred around 9:15 p.m., and Jottras said the man's body was not removed for about six hours. Jottras said he counted 59 cones marking shell casings.
Authorities said Garvin shot at least 23 rounds on his bloody circuit through the neighborhood, where people enjoying the spring-like weather were flocking to the area's many outdoor cafes. As an ambulance pulled away from the scene, police drew yellow tape across several intersections, closing off a section of Bleecker Street near NYU's downtown campus and close to several famous bars and restaurants, including Cafe Wha?, where Bob Dylan used to perform.
At Lion's Den, where Andy Paul's hard-rock band had been scheduled to perform, showgoers ducked into the back of the venue.
Josh Drimmer was among those who stayed hidden there until police escorted the group out.
"Hearing that many shots in a row,'' he said, "it was war. It felt like that for a hot second.''
Residents of the pricey neighborhood said they were shocked by the violence.
"It's very not typical of the area,'' said Amy Stoyko, who lives on a block of Bleecker Street that was still cordoned off Thursday morning.
Nearby, someone had taped a sign to a lamppost along with pink silk flowers. It read: "Rest in peace, our beloved auxiliaries.''
City officials said the two auxiliary officers, the first to die in the line of duty since 1993, would get full police honors at their funerals. Only five other auxiliary officers have died on the job in the city's history.
Kelly said the city's nearly 4,500 auxiliary officers, who are not required to respond to emergency calls, are the ``eyes and ears'' of the police force.
"Day in and day out, they sacrifice their free time and energy for the people of our city,'' Kelly said.
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surveillance video of Pekearo ducking behind a car before he was fatally shot as the gunman hovered over him.
When it was all over, Garvin's body lay bloodied and askew outside a shop, a gun lying on the sidewalk steps away. He had been carrying two semiautomatic firearms and a bag with a fake beard and 100 rounds of ammunition, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
Garvin then exchanged gunfire with full-time officers, who shot him, police said.
