Mayor, staff give Yule gifts to 7-year-old gunshot victim

12/22/2000

Mayor Carty Finkbeiner and his administrative staff presented Christmas gifts yesterday to 7-year-old gunshot victim David Pope, Jr., his mother, and five siblings.

Mary Chris Skeldon, the mayor's spokeswoman, said the staff usually pitches in to buy a present for the mayor. This year Mayor Finkbeiner suggested they use the money to buy presents for David and his family instead, she said.

David was shot last month while sleeping in his home on Prospect Avenue by a bullet fired during a fight in the parking lot of nearby Mr. J's nightclub.

Robin Cardell, 30, David's mother, said she was overwhelmed by how the community and the city administration had reached out to help her and her family.