NYC mayor on deadly shootout: `Too many guns'

[undeterred]

By COLLEEN LONG and ADAM GOLDMAN (AP) – 1 hour ago

NEW YORK — The mayor railed against gun violence on Friday, one day after a street peddler armed with a machine pistol died in a shootout with police outside a hotel in bustling Times Square. Raymond Martinez, 25, was killed by a plainclothes sergeant Thursday after trading gunfire in an area crowded with tourists and holiday shoppers.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg was asked about the shooting while appearing at a Manhattan charity event, and he used the question to discuss one of his signature issues — illegal firearms and gun violence in New York and other big cities. "We've got to stop this," Bloomberg said. "This is one of the great public health threats. And our police officers are clearly in danger."

Investigators were trying to determine whether Martinez was selling illegal weapons before he was fatally wounded in the taxi area of the landmark Marriott Marquis hotel. They say the gun he fired, a Mac-10 9 mm that held 30 rounds, was reported stolen in Richmond, Va., on Oct. 28. Police say Martinez also was carrying several business cards linked to Virginia gun dealers near Richmond, in Hampton Roads and in Ivor. All the gun shops declined to comment.

One card had a handwritten message on the back: "I just finished watching 'The Last Dragon.' I feel sorry for a cop if he think I'm getting into his paddy wagon," according to police. It's unclear who wrote the message, which apparently references a 1985 martial arts movie.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jvfD1QMzNyAm2iykQtY5tuhyjrkgD9CH7SGG0