Shooting Survivor Laments: ‘They Tried To Kill Me’
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

Governor Pataki and Governor-elect Spitzer added their voices yesterday to the chorus of those speaking out about a shooting by police.
Even as the politicians weighed in on the death of Sean Bell, who was killed outside a Queens club early Saturday, one of the men who was injured, Joseph Guzman, spoke for the first time from his hospital bed at Mary Immaculate Hospital. Afterward, the Rev. Al Sharpton, who was with Mr. Guzman at the time, said he was very clear: “He just kept saying, ‘They tried to kill me. They tried to kill me.'”
Meanwhile, investigators are reportedly looking for two possible new witnesses, one of whom may have been armed. One of the men was last seen, dressed in black, standing near Bell’s SUV when the undercover officers opened fire. The other was last seen wearing a beige jacket and running away from Bell’s car as the officers started shooting.
The new developments came on the same day that the Rev. Jesse Jackson joined Bell’s mother, Valerie, in her first visit to the site of the shooting, outside the Kalua Club in Jamaica, Queens, where her son celebrated his last night as a bachelor. “It’s not about black and white,” the Rev. Jackson said, standing near a collection of flowers, candles, and photographs outside the club. “It’s about wrong and right.”
Some observers said the Rev. Jackson’s presence reflects the level and breadth of concern regarding the case. “I think the fact that Jesse Jackson was here, it reflects the national dimension of the story,” a political consultant, Bill Lynch, said. Mr. Lynch also said the widespread attention could prompt local and state officials to be more diligent in their investigation.
During a press briefing in Kuwait, Governor Pataki expressed faith in that investigation, but said, “Obviously, 50 bullets fired into or at an unarmed individual in New York is excessive force.” He underscored his confidence in Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and Mayor Bloomberg, who has called the shooting “excessive” and “unacceptable.”
Governor-elect Spitzer, who, according to The Associated Press, also indicated the shooting was excessive yesterday, stopped short of calling for a special prosecutor to take over the case from Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, as some have called for. A spokeswoman for Mr. Spitzer, Christine Anderson, said yesterday that he does not think there is a “need to add another government entity” to the mix “right now.”
As reports of two possible new witnesses surfaced yesterday, a spokesman for the Queens district attorney said he could not put a timeline on the investigation, which he said was still in its early stages. “We’re still gathering evidence, reports, audio, videotapes,” the spokesman, Kevin Ryan, said. “We want it to be thorough, fair, and impartial” before presenting the case to a grand jury, he said.
However, relatives and friends of Bell and two others who survived the shooting, including Guzman and Trent Benefield, expressed anger while visiting the Jamaica club yesterday. “This was unjust,” Guzman’s sister, Yolanda Guzman, said.
Last night, it was unclear which elected officials would attend Bell’s funeral, scheduled for Friday evening in Jamaica. Council Member James Sanders said he plans to attend, while a spokesman from the mayor’s office has not yet indicated if Mayor Bloomberg would be there.
Community leaders said yesterday that it would be a “religious” service, while Bell’s mother has told reporters she prefers to have only close friends and family present. Community leaders are said to be organizing the funeral, which will be held at Community Church of Christ. The church, capable of holding 600 people, is where Bell was supposed to get married.