Shots Fired Outside United Nations

Oct 3, 2:05 PM (ET)

By DAFNA LINZER

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - A man jumped the fence
surrounding the U.N. compound Thursday, fired several
shots into the air and was quickly tackled by security
officers. There were no injuries and the gunman was
not immediately identified.

Shots from the pistol hit the 18th and 20th floors of
the U.N. building, and at least one bullet casing was
found in the women's restroom on the 18th floor,
according to the office of the U.N. spokesman.

The shooting took place at 1:10 p.m. while the
Security Council was holding discussions on Iraq, but
there was no immediate indication of any connection.
The leaders of Greek and Turkish Cyprus were also in
the building and were holding meetings with U.N.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the time.

Council members appeared unaware of the incident when
they emerged from their meeting. Minutes earlier, U.N.
security officials had assured U.N. employees that
"security has responded ... and everything is under
control."


The United Nations was conducting floor-to-floor
searches for more bullets after the shooting. The FBI
was brought in and was among those questing the
suspect, along with Diplomatic Security and the New
York City Police Department.

The gunman, in a blue suit, was standing inside the
gate at 43rd Street and First Avenue where vehicles
enter the U.N. compound, said U.N. spokeswoman Hua
Jiang, who witnessed the incident from the window of
her office overlooking the area.

"He had a gun. He shot in the air. I heard about five
to six shots, and then he dropped the gun," she said.

"Then, within seconds, the security guards went from
all over the place, and overpowered him. He didn't
resist. He put his hands on the wall ... and the
security guards took him away to the side," Hua said.

It was not clear how the man got past security through
the front gate of the compound.

Hua said she did not know whether the man was an
employee of the United Nations.

Michael Hovey, who works at the United Nations and
also witnessed the shooting, said the gunman did not
appear to be aiming at the building or at any
individual.

He described the gun as a silver-covered pistol. He
said the man was also carrying leaflets, written in
English. It was not clear what the leaflets said.

Hovey said the shooting took place after he saw the
gunman standing by the large ornamental pool outside
the Secretariat building but inside the compound.

"I saw a man standing by the pool," said Hovey,
executive director of The Hague Appeal for Peace, a
nonprofit organization that deals with peace
education.

"He held a handgun in the air and fired five shots.
And then he threw the handgun onto the ground. Then he
just walked over the wall, grabbed some papers, threw
them in the air and then sat down. Within a minute the
security guards surrounded him."

Police sealed off First Avenue in front the United
Nations building, and cleared the street of bystanders
or onlookers. The United Nations also sealed off the
Secretariat Building, and would not allow anyone but
Diplomatic Security to come and go.

The 38-floor glass-and-steel Secretariat building is
the world headquarters of the United Nations. The
building houses the Security Council and Annan's.

The incident took place as the Security Council was
being briefed by U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans
Blix on his agreement earlier this week with Iraq that
could pave the way for the return of U.N. weapons
inspectors.





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