Cop Kills Gunman in Times Square

A plainclothes sergeant shot and killed a suspected scam artist outside a Times Square hotel today after an exchange of gunfire. Police say the victim fired first with a Mac 10 semiautomatic machine gun. The sergeant fired four times, hitting 25-year-old Raymond Martinez in the chest and arm. The shooting occurred shortly before noon in the passenger pickup area of the Marriott Marquis hotel. No one else was injured.

Police chief Raymond Kelly said the sergeant is in charge of a task force that monitors aggressive panhandling. He recognized the suspect and his brother and asked them for identification. Martinez ran, then opened fire when the sergeant chased him. The gun had been reported stolen in Virginia. The New York Times says police found a note in the victim's wallet that read: "I just finished watching The Last Dragon. I feel sorry for a cop if he think I’m getting into his paddy wagon.” (More Times Square stories.)