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12/11/2012

Judge: Zimmerman can't remove GPS monitor

George Zimmerman in court on Tuesday

By NBC News staff and wire services

A Florida judge denied a motion Tuesday to allow George Zimmerman to remove his GPS monitoring device and allow him to travel or live outside Seminole County, Fla.

Zimmerman, 29, has been confined to Seminole County under a $1 million bond since July, when a judge concluded that Zimmerman provided false information about his assets and was a flight risk.

The defense said that due to the high-profile nature of his case, Zimmerman has been forced to live in hiding. If he were allowed to move, he could possibly live more openly, his attorney argued.

"He shouldn't have to be in hiding," attorney Mark O'Mara said.

A former neighborhood watch volunteer, Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in connection with the killing of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin.

He has pleaded not guilty, claiming self-defense under Florida's "stand your ground" law.

Zimmerman, who is of Latino descent, is charged with shooting and killing Martin, 17, who was African-American, on Feb. 26 in Sanford. He faces trial June 10. The case became a rallying point for activists protesting what they said was the targeting of an unarmed black youth because of his race.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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DNA may solve 'Mona Lisa' mystery

DNA testing planned for remains of woman thought to be the model for the iconic painting
From that, Italian researchers hope to reconstruct the model's face
Former TV producer says he's sure that a portrait of Lisa Gherardini was commissioned
But, he says, he is not sure that Leonardo da Vinci's painting is completely of her

(CNN) -- Few paintings have been more viewed, more analyzed, studied and interpreted, than Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa," otherwise known as "La Gioconda."

Despite this, no one has come up with an explanation for that enigmatic smile, or a lot of other details in this painting that, despite all the ink and hot air expended on it, measures a mere 77 by 52 centimeters (about 30 by 21 inches).

In the frigid bowels of a derelict building in central Florence, Italy, that covers the ruins of an old Franciscan convent, a group of researchers is trying to nail down some of the elusive details of the woman featured in the iconic painting. It is here that old city records say the woman who posed for the painting, Lisa Gherardini, the second wife of wealthy Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo, was buried.

Who was the real 'Mona Lisa'?

Earliest 'Mona Lisa' copy hangs at Prado

Silvano Vinceti is leading a team to exhume and identify Gherardini's remains.

Those remains are wrapped in aluminum foil and packed into large Tupperware containers stacked in an old filing cabinet. Vinceti and his colleagues took them out, one by one, and eventually found one packet with what appeared to be skull fragments.

"This is probably it," Vinceti tells me excitedly, his eyebrows arching. The remains, he says, will be sent for DNA testing to several universities in Italy and abroad, where they will be checked against the DNA of two confirmed relatives of Gherardini buried elsewhere.

I ask Vinceti: Why go to all this trouble to find out if this was the woman who posed for da Vinci more than 500 years ago?

"Once we identify the remains," he says, gesticulating dramatically, "we can reconstruct the face, with a margin of error of 2 to 8 percent. By doing this, we will finally be able to answer the question the art historians can't: Who was the model for Leonardo?"

I've seen this before. Several years ago, I did a report about the reconstruction of the face of the Pharaoh Tutankhamen (aka King Tut) by French and American forensic experts using his mummified remains as a model.

After piecing together Gherardini's skull fragments, researchers will be able to reconstruct her face, factoring in that she was probably in her early 20s when she posed for da Vinci.

Vinceti has no doubt that da Vinci was commissioned to paint a portrait of Gherardini, but he is not certain whether the painting that now hangs in the Louvre in Paris is of her, or just contains some of her features.

For starters, he says, that famous smile is not Gherardini's. Analysis of the "Mona Lisa" shows, he says, that "when Leonardo began painting the model in front of him, he did not draw that metaphysical, ironic, poignant, elusive smile, but rather he painted a person who was dark and depressed."

The smile, he believes, was added later, and probably belongs to da Vinci's longtime assistant (and rumored lover) Gian Giacomo Caprotti, whose distinct features appear in other works by da Vinci. Other art historians say the "Mona Lisa" is a surreptitious self-portrait.

There is something eccentric, or slightly mad, about Vinceti. A former producer for RAI, the Italian state broadcaster, he speaks in the language of veteran television producers the world over -- emphatic, direct and full of expletives. In the past, he's produced documentaries about his attempts to solve old art mysteries and plans to do the same with his current project on the "Mona Lisa." His high-profile efforts have been criticized by academics, but Vinceti brushes them off with a dismissive snort.

Part of his motivation in this current project is a personal identification with da Vinci, who, Vinceti says, "never went to university, didn't learn Greek or Latin, and was not considered learned."

It will be several months before DNA tests can be conducted and the reconstruction of Gherardini's face can be completed. And regardless of the results, Vinceti concedes that da Vinci is beyond comprehension: "This is the magic of a great genius who eludes classification, around whom remains a fog of mystery. I am under no illusion that we will be able to solve the mystery of the 'Mona Lisa.'

U.S. blacklists Syrian rebel group

The United States designates the al-Nusra Front as a foreign terrorist organization
The U.S. Treasury also imposes sanctions on two pro-government militia groups
Panetta says there is no new intelligence that Syria is moving toward chemical weapons use
The U.N refugee agency says more than half a million Syrians are now on its books

(CNN) -- The U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions Tuesday on leaders of the jihadist al-Nusra Front in Syria, hours after the State Department moved to blacklist the rebel group as a foreign terror organization linked to al Qaeda in Iraq.

The Treasury also sanctioned two armed militia groups that operate under the control of the Syrian government, Jaysh al-Sha'bi and Shabiha, it said.

Syrian opposition groups have voiced their opposition to the U.S. move against the rebel fighters, suggesting that they are being targeted because they oppose a new anti-government coalition.

In recent months, the radical Islamist al-Nusra Front has emerged as one of the most effective groups in the Syrian resistance, drawing on foreign fighters with combat experience in Iraq and elsewhere.

Syrian rebels or terrorists?

Syrian uses sugar, scraps to make bombs

Securing Syria's chemical weapons

Terry Waite asks former captors for help

But Washington accuses the group of using the Syrian conflict to advance its own ideology and ends.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland confirmed Tuesday that the al-Nusra Front had been added to the list of aliases for al Qaeda in Iraq, already designated a foreign terrorist organization.

She said the group had claimed nearly 600 attacks in several cities in the past year, including suicide bombings, and was responsible for the deaths of "numerous innocent Syrians."

Al-Nusra "has sought to portray itself as part of the legitimate Syrian opposition while it is, in fact, an attempt by AQI to hijack the struggles of the Syrian people for its own malign purposes," she said.

The designation makes it illegal for any U.S. citizen to give "material support or resources," including money, training or weapons, to al-Nusra fighters.

The Treasury's financial sanctions also target two senior al-Nusra leaders, named as Maysar Ali Musa Abdallah al-Juburi and Anas Hasan Khattab.

The measure means that any assets they may hold in the United States are blocked and that U.S. citizens are barred from doing business with them.

The Treasury sanctions against pro-government groups target two Shabiha commanders, named as Ayman Jaber and Mohammad Jaber, along with the two militia groups.

Its statement said the Shabiha have "operated as a direct action arm of the government of Syria and its security services," working alongside its intelligence services, and have been "complicit in the commission of human rights abuses in Syria, including those related to repression."

"Since the beginning of the unrest, the Shabiha have fired into crowds of peaceful Syrian demonstrators, shot and killed Syrian demonstrators, arbitrarily detained Syrian civilians, and shot Syrian soldiers who refused to fire on peaceful demonstrators," it said.

The Jaysh al-Sha'bi militia has "conducted unilateral and joint operations with Syrian military and security elements against the Syrian opposition" that have led to the deaths of opposition members, the statement said.

It accuses Iran of training, funding and arming the Jaysh al-Sha'bi militia.

Washington's move comes a day ahead of a Friends of Syria meeting scheduled for Wednesday in Morocco.

The goal of the designation is to isolate extremist groups in Syria while giving a boost to the new political opposition group unveiled last month in Doha, Qatar, U.S. officials said last week.

Al-Nusra and several other groups last month announced their opposition to the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, a new anti-government coalition. U.S. officials estimate al-Nusra members represent about 9% of rebel forces in Syria.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based opposition group, said fighters from the al-Nusra Front were among rebel forces who it says have seized control of a government military base in the Sheikh Sleiman area of western Reef Aleppo.

But their designation as a foreign terrorist group isn't being made on the grounds of past or possible future actions, according to the Observatory's Rami Abdelrahman.

"The United States decided to single out the Nusra Front because of their recent rejection to the political opposition front and (because) they have a different approach to post-Assad's Syria," he told CNN.

Syrian Minister of Information Omran al-Zoubi told Lebanese al-Manar TV on Monday that Damascus understood why Washington wanted to blacklist the al-Nusra Front.

"When the U.S. places Jabhat al-Nusra on the international terrorist organizations list, that is because it realizes the nature of these groups which are fighting the Syrian armed forces," he said.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has characterized the nearly 21 months of violence that have ravaged his country as a fight against terrorism.

But the Syrian National Council, a largely expatriate opposition group, on Sunday voiced its "full rejection of any accusation of extremism and terrorism to any of the forces that are fighting the Syrian regime."

Any accusations made against factions within the Free Syrian Army, which brings together disparate groups, were intended to cause division within its ranks and between its forces and the Syrian people, it said.

"Terrorism is a characteristic that can only be attributed to the Syrian regime," it said.

The commander of the Falcons of the Levant Brigade, a rebel group, criticized the U.S. move in a statement, saying the international community "should have designated Bashar al-Assad, his army and his criminal thugs on that list first and last for what they are committing against our people."

The group said it would "refuse to be dragged into these Western accusations against any group" and would continue to back al-Nusra and any other faction fighting government forces.

U.S. officials have previously said the jihadist al-Nusra Front has not affiliated itself publicly with al Qaeda in an apparent effort to appear more mainstream. The group has claimed responsibility for complex attacks in Damascus and Aleppo, frequently involving suicide bombers.

At least 26 people were killed Tuesday across the country, according to the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria.

Clashes continued Tuesday between Syrian troops and rebels as the latter besieged a major infantry academy to the north of Aleppo. Commanders with the Free Syrian Army said its fighters clashed with troops in the barracks before pulling back Monday night.

Rebel commanders say government troops have defended the academy fiercely. Capturing it would give rebels control of the route into Aleppo from the north, as well as any munitions and arms stored at the compound.

CNN is unable to confirm casualty reports as the government has severely restricted access by international journalists.

The meeting in Morocco this week follows a renewed international push for a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Syria, amid concerns about the potential use of chemical weapons.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told reporters Tuesday, however, that intelligence about new attempts by Syrian government forces to move chemical weapons "has really kind of leveled off."

U.S. officials said last week that they had seen intelligence suggesting that Syrian military units might be preparing chemical weapons for use, prompting strong warnings from international figures.

"We haven't seen anything new indicating any aggressive steps to move forward in that way," Panetta said.

"But we continue to monitor it very closely, and we continue to make clear to them that they should not under any means make use of these chemical weapons against their own population. That would produce serious consequences."

Panetta said he would like to believe that al-Assad has gotten the message: "We've made it pretty clear and others have as well."

But, he added, "You know it's also clear that the opposition continues to make gains in Syria, and our concern is that if they feel like the regime is threatened with collapse that they might resort to these kinds of weapons."

U.S. President Barack Obama has said that any use of chemical weapons would cross a "red line," eliciting a swift U.S. reaction.

Syrian state-run media said Monday that the United States has falsely accused Syria of considering the use of chemical weapons.

Meanwhile, the United Nations refugee agency, the UNHCR, said Tuesday that it had either registered or was in the process of registering more than half a million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Turkey and North Africa. The numbers are climbing by more than 3,000 per day, spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said.

CNN's Arwa Damon, Nick Paton Walsh and Jamie Crawford contributed to this report.

Rare December tornadoes slam southern states

Up to six tornadoes slammed four southern states. In Florida, 40 homes were damaged and 12 were completely destroyed. TODAY's Al Roker reports.

By NBC News staff

At least six tornadoes ripped through four southern states Monday evening, blowing over gas pumps and destroying homes.

The hardest hit areas by the unusual December tornadoes were in Florida and Alabama.

In Edgewater, Fla., 40 homes were damaged and 12 completely destroyed. There were two people with minor injuries but no deaths, the Edgewater Fire Department reported. Most of the damage was inside Terra Mar Village, a mobile home community.

In Alabama, there were no reported injuries or deaths, the Birmingham Fire Department reported, but a gas station off I-165 had its pumps blown over.

The forecast for Tuesday calls for a slight risk of tornadoes in areas stretching from Daytona Beach to Fort Meyers, Fla. Damaging winds, spotty hail and three to four inches of rainfall are expected.

Please check back for more on this developing story.

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Opinion: Jeb Bush offers tough love

Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida, is a potential GOP candidate for the 2016 presidential election.

Jeff Smith: No American family embodies Republicanism more than the Bushes
Smith: Jeb Bush, a potential 2016 presidential candidate, may be bucking the trend
He says Jeb Bush advocates for fiscal responsibility and standing up to Grover Norquist
Smith: If GOP can return to its more centrist roots, then it has a chance to win more voters

Editor's note: Jeff Smith, who represented Missouri's 4th Senate District from 2006-09, is a professor in the urban policy graduate program at the New School in New York. He spent 2010 in federal prison for lying about a campaign finance violation. He is on Twitter: @jeffsmithMO.

(CNN) -- No American family embodies mainstream Republicanism more than the Bushes, noted a New York Times article this year.

For three generations, Bush men have occupied towering positions in the party pantheon, and the party's demographic and ideological shifts can be traced through the branches of the Bush family tree: from Prescott, the blue-blooded Eisenhower Republican, and George H.W. Bush, the transitional figure who tried and failed to emulate the approach of the New Right, to George W. Bush, who embodied the new breed of tax-cutting, evangelical conservatism. Indeed, the Bushes' metamorphosis from genial centrism to deep-fried conservatism has both anticipated and reflected the party's trajectory.

But now, Jeb Bush, a potential 2016 presidential candidate, seems to be bucking the trend. He is seeking to return the party to its ideological moorings -- toward the centrism of his grandfather. Even before the GOP's ignominious defeat in November, Jeb was offering tough love to his party, suggesting that Republicans stand up to Grover Norquist and craft a bipartisan compromise to reduce the deficit significantly. But will Republicans listen? There are many reasons to believe they won't.

Prescott was a Manhattan investment banker who called himself a "moderate progressive." In the 1952 primary between conservative presidential candidate Sen. Robert Taft and moderate Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Prescott chose Eisenhower -- and became the president's favorite golf partner. Prescott rode Eisenhower's coattails into the Senate, where he focused on urban renewal, spearheading the 1954 Housing Act. An early proponent of the line-item veto, he received national recognition as an advocate of fiscal responsibility.

Prescott's son George H.W. left for West Texas in 1948 when Texas was still a one-party state. But change was afoot in the South, and by the time H.W. ran for U.S. Senate in 1964, he encountered a flourishing Texas Republican Party that had recently elected its first U.S. senator by attracting hordes of conservative Democrats. But the new rank-and-file Republicans were nothing like the Connecticut Republicans he knew -- or even like those in the Houston suburbs. Biographer Richard Ben Cramer imagined H.W.'s vexation at this new breed of Texas Republican:

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"These ... these nuts! They were coming out of the woodwork! They talked about blowing up the U.N., about armed revolt against the income tax. ...The nuts hated him. They could smell Yale on him."

Recognizing that his 1964 primary campaign would need to be more Goldwater than Rockefeller, he ignored the social problems Prescott had addressed. "Only unbridled free enterprise can cure unemployment," H.W. asserted, contending that government bore no responsibility for alleviating poverty. Though he lost, he began the transition to Sunbelt conservatism that would make him (barely) acceptable to Ronald Reagan as a running mate. But he never fully evolved: He famously reneged on his "no new taxes" pledge. His son George W. would complete the transition.

George W.'s first major legislative accomplishment as president was the enactment of a massive $1.6 trillion tax cut. He rode roughshod over the green-eyeshade types to pass a massive tax cut. When it produced runaway deficits, he accepted Dick Cheney's argument: "Reagan taught us that deficits don't matter."

In adopting Sun Belt conservatism -- sometimes clumsily -- George H.W. and George W. anticipated the Republican Party's ideological shift. Hence, in evaluating Jeb's prescriptions for fiscal responsibility, today's Republicans should recall the Bushes' past political palm reading.

Politics is about addition, not subtraction. Every year, as Republicans maintain the electoral coalition that responds to their platform, they face an inevitable subtraction from their base. That's because unyielding stances on taxes and deficits practically guarantee that young voters will continue opposing them, and the (older and whiter) constituencies who favor them shrink as a percentage of the electorate. Republicans who believe they can continue to win with their current coalition are like rats who believe they can outrun a treadmill.

As the nation approaches $16 trillion of debt and grapples with the baby boomer retirement, young voters will grasp that every dollar spent on entitlement programs is a dollar paid by already-strapped young workers. That may well push young voters to support the party with the most credible deficit-reduction plan.

According to 2012 exit polls, 60% of young voters (aged 18-29) supported President Barack Obama. Young voters also made up a slightly larger share of the electorate than they had in 2008. This is a huge problem for Republicans for three reasons. One, people tend to vote with higher frequencies once they hit t heir 30s. Two, generational cohorts tend to stick with the party they supported in their formative years. And most obviously, young voters are more likely to be around to vote in the future.

If it were just about math, Jeb could convince the party to adopt what polling shows are clearly winning positions. But as the work of scholars Gary Miller and Norman Schofield suggests, it's not a linear equation: It's about momentum and intensity within the Republican coalition.

That's because the newest entrants to a party's electoral coalition are usually its most robust -- and the hardest to roll in intraparty skirmishes. For Republicans, it is the mostly white and older tea partiers, who block electorally beneficial positions on taxes. The next newest entrants to the coalition are Christian conservatives, many of whom also strongly oppose tax increases.

Fiscally conservative and socially progressive Rockefeller types are the oldest group, but they've been leaving the Republican Party for decades. Whereas many of them supported Republican congressional candidates in the 1970s, far less did by the 2000s. So while this group is the easiest to persuade of the need for adjustments (indeed, many already share Jeb's views), they hold the least sway in the party.

What does all this mean? American parties since the Civil War have periodically shed the coalition elements that are most distant from their activist base. While Jeb's prescriptions are in the party's long-term interest, they will be difficult to execute, given the strength of the party's coalition members.

Can Jeb sway a resistant party base? It's quite possible: His family's odyssey has reflected the party's shifts for 50 years, and he's uniquely positioned to convince his peers. If Republicans listen, it will constitute a return to their roots -- and a reckoning with demographic reality.

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jeff Smith.

So where will all that 'legal' pot come from?

Washington State's new law makes it legal for adults to possess up to an ounce of marijuana, but some speculate the federal government will prosecute those who use marijuana on federal land because federal law prohibits marijuana use. NBC's Kristen Dahlgren reports.

By M. Alex Johnson, NBC News

Washington and Colorado say you can legally smoke marijuana for fun now, but here's the catch: You can't legally buy it.

M. Alex Johnson is a reporter for NBC News. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

Voters in those states passed initiatives last month to legalize recreational use of marijuana. As of last Thursday, it's legal under Washington law for anyone 21 and over to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana, 16 ounces of "solid marijuana-infused product" (in other words, a pound of pot brownies) or 72 ounces of "marijuana-infused liquid."

In Colorado, Gov. John Hickenlooper signed Amendment 64 to the state Constitution on Monday, legalizing not only recreational use but also home growing, unlike in Washington.

Entrepreneurs are already planning stores to get more buck for the bhang.

PhotoBlog: Pot smokers gather under Seattle's Space Needle to celebrate

"Part of the mission of our company is to transform marijuana from a back-alley drug being sold by criminals into a premium product being enjoyed by responsible adults," said Jamen Shively, chief executive of Diego Pellicer Inc., a new company that hopes to open a chain of stores in Washington and Colorado as soon as the budding legal issues are cleared up.

The company is named for Shively's great-grandfather, who grew hemp in the Philippines. It eventually became the biggest hemp supplier in the world around the turn of the 20th century. ("It's a family business," said Alan Valdes, a veteran securities trader who recently joined the company as chairman.)

"We're creating the category of premium marijuana," said Shively, who worked as a corporate strategy manager for Microsoft Corp. from 2003 to 2009 before leaving for a specialty food startup. "If you are producing or intending to produce premium-grade product that's in line with our ethos, we're interested in talking to you."

Americans to feds: Keep your hands off our pot

But Diego Pellicer and its customers may be in for a long wait.

The federal government still insists that marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance and that buying and selling it for any purpose remains a federal crime. Federal authorities officially even frown on the pot that patients get at medical marijuana dispensaries, although their policy is to look the other way in those cases.

For recreational users, well, "you're a felon," said Mark A.R. Kleiman, editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. "Period. End of paragraph."

And so is your retailer.

"Regardless of any changes in state law ... growing, selling or possessing any amount of marijuana remains illegal under federal law," said Jenny Durkan, the U.S. attorney in Seattle. She said the Justice Department is reviewing its options in Washington and Colorado.

Buzzkill: Feds fire warning shot over pot legalization

Shively said that under no circumstances would his company violate federal law.

"Let's suppose tomorrow that Washington state issued licenses and said, 'Go ahead, guys, have at it.' We would say to the state of Washington respectfully, 'Thanks, but no thanks, because we haven't heard from the federal government.'"

Until then, Diego Pellicer is rounding up funding and private shareholders to be ready if and when the Justice Department changes course.

"I think it's going to be hard for the Obama administration to slap this down," Valdes said. "Washington is a liberal Democratic state that helped (President Barack Obama) get elected. The people voted for him — it would be a slap in the face."

Like Amsterdam: Washington bar owner lets patrons get stoned

Dan Satterberg, the prosecuting attorney in King County, Wash., which is home to a thriving marijuana scene in and around Seattle, thinks the Justice Department will try anyway.

The Washington and Colorado laws require state agencies to facilitate something the federal government considers an illegal act — the sale and distribution of marijuana. That raises an important states' rights question that only the courts can sort out, he said.

Satterberg told NBC station KING of Seattle that he expects the states and the Justice Department to wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court within the next couple of years to argue the issue.

KING: Clearing up the new marijuana law: What's legal?

Overlooked in the immediate reaction to passage of the initiatives, both pro and con, is an important public health question, said Kleiman, who is a professor of public policy at the University of California-Los Angeles and co-author of "Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know."

It's not the question you might expect — how much does legalization increase marijuana use? — but "how much does legalization increase abuse?" he told NBC News.

Assuming marijuana use follows the pattern of alcohol use, most of the marijuana consumed in the U.S. is used by the 20 percent minority of people who abuse it, he said. Most pot users use it now for light recreational purposes, but if it's legal, how big will that 20 percent grow?

"Nobody knows," he said.

Questions like that are why it might, in fact, be wise for the federal government to step back and let Washington and Colorado serve as laboratories, so policy makers can "find out what happens."

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If it does, Shively and Valdes will be ready.

"We are building our entire business on the premise it will be sufficiently legal in the next few months or a year," Shively said — a business that will include merchandising beyond simple sales of premium pot.

"Be looking out for really beautiful vaporizing products," he said. "That will be really hot."

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Police release video of suspect in Manhattan shooting

View more videos at: http://nbcnewyork.com.

By Jonathan Dienst, Shimon Prokupecz and Brynn Gingras, NBCNewYork.com

Police have released surveillance video of the suspect wanted in the execution-style slaying of a man near Columbus Circle in New York City at the height of the holiday shopping season Monday afternoon.

Police said Tuesday they were still searching for the gunman who walked up behind Brandon Woodard as he walked through busy midtown Manhattan and shot him in the back of the head outside a Catholic school just before 2 p.m.

Authorities have said they believe the shooting was planned in advance. The surveillance video shows the suspect 10 minutes before the shooting. He was seen getting out of a late model Lincoln sedan, shooting Woodard from behind and then getting back into the vehicle. The car, driven by someone else, sped away, police said.

Police also released a still photograph of the suspect walking up behind Woodard moments before he pulled the trigger.

Woodard, 31, was pronounced dead at the hospital. Shell casings for the silver semi-automatic weapon were found at the scene.

People on the street who heard the gunshot and saw the man fall ran to the firehouse on the block to get help.

"We all flinched because it was so close," said Benny Harris.

A native of Los Angeles, Woodard was most recently living in Chicago, according to public records. He lived in Yucca Valley and Playa Vista in California before that. It's not clear why he was in New York City. Police said Woodard had prior arrests in Los Angeles but had no other details.

Woodard's father told the Daily News he has a young daughter and was enrolled in law school.

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