Paul Chinn / The Chronicle

 OAKLAND A city employee removes graffiti from the walgreens store at 14th and Broadway in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011. A general strike called by Occupy Oakland organizers turned ugly after midnight resulting in widespread damage throughout the downtown area.

“We had people who were attempted to break into our building,” the landmark Rotunda Building on Frank Ogawa Plaza outside City Hall, Tagami said today. He grabbed a shotgun that he usually keeps at home, went down to the ground floor and “discouraged them,” he said.

No police were in sight, he said.

“Basically, people were pushing to get through the door,” he said. “I was standing there and they saw me there, and I lifted it – I didn’t point it – I just held it in my hands. And I just racked it, and they ran.”

Although they didn’t get inside the building – Tagami, 46, oversaw its $50 million renovation and has an office there – vandals did scrawl graffiti on the outside walls during the post-midnight riot that broke out after Occupy Oakland’s daylong general strike.

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