It was 25 years ago today that Bernie Goetz pulled out a handgun on a No. 2 train and opened fire on four black teenagers who he claimed were planning to mug him. Goetz fired five shots and all four were seriously injured— one was left a paraplegic—and the story, which touched on the hot buttons of race and urban crime, dominated the news media for months. Goetz later stood trial for attempted murder, assault, and reckless endangerment, although a jury only convicted him of illegal firearms, and he ultimately spent less than a year in prison before his release. Cindy Adams took a few minutes to catch up with Goetz on the occasion of the anniversary to see if planned to do anything to do mark the day.

Bernie Goetz is back! And he'd like to be known as Bernard now, not Bernhard, okay? The man who famously shot four black teenagers in a subway car in 1984 is now running to become an Independence Party state committee member. (And his chief challenger may be as crazy as he is: Dr. Fred Newman, a controversial "former Marxist who is now a psychotherapist.") Goetz isn't new to the local political fray: In 2005, he ran for Manhattan public advocate on a platform of instituting vegetarian diets in public schools and assisting the city's population of infirm squirrels. Really. Fortunately, Goetz hasn't updated his website since his last run, so you get a taste for his nutty politics here. After the jump: footage of Bernie playing with with one of his rodent pals!