seattle2006

SEATTLE 2006:
The site of the shootings is just a short walk from our favorite hotel in Belltown (just up from downtown via Alaskan Way, along Elliot Bay). Neighborhoods in the City of Seattle encourage walking. Streets are steep, alleys funky, following topo lines - restaurants and businesses tucked into the special pedestrian circulation system in this great city!

Photos from Seattle PI and Seattle TIMES; Edgewater Hotel.
Associated Press

"Hero" turns focus to gun control
By Jennifer Sullivan, Seattle Times staff reporter
August 18, 2006

Dayna Klein was shot in the arm at the Jewish Federal of Greater Seattle.

In the three weeks since a gunman stormed the Belltown office where she works, killed her close friend and shot her in the arm, Dayna Klein says she has dedicated herself to fighting for tighter gun-control laws.

Klein, 37, said at a news conference Thursday that she wants to know why the man who "invaded" the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle on July 28 was able to purchase guns from shops in the Tri-Cities just before the shootings that killed one woman and wounded Klein and four others.

Klein, whom police have proclaimed a hero for quick thinking that not only saved her unborn baby but the lives of co-workers, voiced her anti-gun concerns to the media and to former President Clinton in person last week. She views the shootings as a reason for her to call for "a safer society for all."

King County prosecutors say Naveed Afzal Haq, 30, forced his way into the secure office. He shot Carol Goldman, Layla Bush, Cheryl Stumbo and Christina Rexroad, charging papers say. He wounded 58-year-old Pamela Waechter, then killed her as she fled.

Klein said she came face to face with the gunman in the doorway of her office. Sensing he might shoot at her unborn child, Klein lowered her left arm to protect the child. The bullet tore through her arm and grazed her leg.

Klein ignored the man's threat to kill anyone who called 911, and she dialed for help.

After Haq caught her, Klein persuaded him to take the phone, court papers say. He ranted on the phone about Jews, Israel and the U.S. role in the war in Iraq and the Middle East before walking outside and surrendering, Klein said.

Klein said she doesn't think about Haq, nor does she have an opinion about whether prosecutors should seek the death penalty.

"Naveed Haq has wasted enough of my time," she said.

Klein said she went to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle on Wednesday and talked with Bush, 23, who remains in serious condition. Stumbo, 43, is in satisfactory condition at the hospital. Rexroad, 29, and Goldman, 35, have been released.

Charge: It may take more than hate to qualify as hate crime
By Mike Carter, Seattle Times staff reporter
August 1, 2006

Odd as it may seem, hate alone is not enough to warrant federal hate-crime charges.

State and federal prosecutors spent Monday weighing the pending prosecution of Naveed Afzal Haq, the 30-year-old man accused of killing one employee and wounding five others in a shooting rampage at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle on Friday. Haq allegedly stated he was angry at Israel and Jews as he stalked the federation's hallways, indiscriminately shooting workers before surrendering to police.

King County prosecutors are moving toward filing aggravated-murder and attempted-murder charges against Haq, perhaps as early as Wednesday, said Dan Donohoe, a spokesman for the King County Prosecutor's Office. Also at the state's disposal is a malicious-harassment charge — the state's version of a hate-crime law — that could add up to five years to any sentence if Haq is convicted. Donohoe, however, said no final decision has been made as to what charges will be filed.

If convicted of aggravated murder, Haq could face life in prison or the death penalty. In addition, he faces five counts of attempted murder, with additional penalties because he used a gun. A conviction on state murder charges would not require the state to prove that hate was a motive for the crime.

Nor would it prohibit the federal government from pursuing its own hate-crime charges.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Lang said Monday federal prosecutors have not ruled out federal charges, as they monitor the state's investigation and wait for the FBI to complete a probe of its own. Lang and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Miyake, who handles civil-rights and hate-crime prosecutions for the office, said proving a hate crime under federal law might be more difficult than it would seem, regardless of Haq's reported statements.

"Hate by itself is not enough," Miyake said. "It's sort of hate-'plus.' "

The "plus," Miyake explained, requires the government to prove that more than race, religious preference or national origin was a factor in the crime. "You also have to be able to show that the individual was interfering with a federally protected right," such as voting, using interstate commerce or attempting to use a public facility. That's because the law harkens to the civil-rights struggle of the early 1960s, when blacks were assaulted for attempting to eat at segregated lunch counters or to register to vote.

Still, there may be a section of the statute under which Haq could be prosecuted in federal court, Miyake and Lang said. For example, one of the federally protected rights cited by the law is "applying for or enjoying employment."

"The mere fact that they were in the act of working may be enough," Lang said.

There is one final hurdle that the office must overcome: Federal hate-crime prosecutions must be specifically approved by U.S. Attorney General Roberto Gonzales.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle has successfully prosecuted hate crimes in the past. In the most recent high-profile prosecution, a 54-year-old Snohomish man, Patrick Cunningham, received a 6 ½-year prison sentence in 2002 after he set fire to cars and threatened worshippers with a gun at the Idris Mosque in North Seattle two days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Jack Levin, a nationally recognized expert on hate crimes and a professor at Northeastern University in Boston, said Monday that prosecutors are often shy about filing hate-crime charges because of a perception that they are difficult to prove and don't carry heavy-enough penalties. Levin said two recent studies he conducted for the university's Brudnick Center for Conflict and Violence showed that to be a misperception.

"The issue is going to be whether the state penalties are going to be severe enough," he said. "Washington has a death penalty for murder. You have to ask whether obtaining a federal conviction would be worth it." Moreover, he said there is no evidence that hate-crime convictions act as a deterrent to others.

On the other hand, he said, there may be a symbolic reason for filing hate-crime charges: "Public outrage is high. While it might be overkill, it sends a message to victims everywhere that these kinds of crimes won't be tolerated."

The Suspect Haq had "chip on shoulder," ex-boss says
By Hal Bernton, Seattle Times staff reporter
August 1, 2006

PASCO — In the summer of 2004, Naveed Afzal Haq moved from the Tri-Cities to Seattle in hopes of finding an engineering job. Haq searched for a month without success, then — with his cash running low — he settled for a $9-an-hour telemarketing job in Tukwila.

Even there, Haq had no success. He was fired from Seattle Specialties Inc. after just four hours on the payroll.

"This was quite a shock to me," wrote Haq in a letter to the state Employment Security Department. "I wanted to do a good job. ... It was just too hard for me to comprehend everything in a short period of time with so little training."

This ill-fated attempt at telemarketing was yet another setback in the troubled life of Haq, who is now 30. On Friday, police allege, he exploded into violence, declaring he was a Muslim angry at Israel as he carried out a handgun attack at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, killing one woman and wounding five. At the time of his move to Seattle, Haq's life appeared like it might be taking a positive turn. He had just graduated from Washington State University with an electrical-engineering degree.

But Haq had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a mental illness that made work difficult. And though he had only a brief stint with Seattle Specialties, a marketing/promotions company, the experience was a source of great frustration for Haq. Fired on Aug. 4, 2004, he was accused of deliberately failing to follow instructions — misconduct that prompted a state administrative-law judge to order him disqualified from collecting at least 10 weeks of unemployment benefits.

The misconduct involved the way Haq reported his telemarketing calls. When he didn't reach prospective customers, he often pressed a key on his computer that erroneously reported them as not wanting what he was selling, according to documents filed in the case. The employer also cited Haq for returning five to seven minutes late from his morning break and 20 minutes late from his lunch break.

Thomas de Winter, owner of Seattle Specialties, said in an interview that Haq "had a real chip on his shoulder."

"He didn't take instruction well," de Winter said. "He proceeded to make a huge deal of the thing in unemployment court. ... He was a hothead."

Haq said in his letter to the state that he was confused by the job, and all his errors were accidental.

"I have learned now that I'm not a good salesman on the phone," he wrote Nov. 13, 2004. "I also am not very good at talking fast most of the time. When I do talk fast, I sometimes fumble and say things that I don't mean."

Angered by the denial of his unemployment benefits, Haq filed an appeal in Franklin County Superior Court: "During my first hearing, I was relatively unprepared for the sales people's skillful presentation. However, now I am ready to rebut their unjust and false allegations."

The case, however, was eventually dismissed.

In the two years that followed, Haq continued to grapple with mental illness, according to Larry Stephenson, a Kennewick attorney speaking on behalf of Haq's parents, Mian and Nahida Haq, of Pasco. Last year, Haq, who was raised a Muslim, also explored a new religious faith. He began to study the Bible with members of the World of Faith Church in Kennewick and was baptized.

Haq's parents were aware of his baptism, according to Stephenson, and took it as one more sign of their son's search for direction in his life. In recent months, Haq again appeared at prayer services at the Islamic Center of Tri-Cities, which his father had helped found. A family friend of the Haqs', Muhammad Kaleem Ullah, attended the service for Pamela Waechter, who was killed in Friday's attack.

"It was a somber experience," Ullah said afterward. "It's a tragedy and learning lesson for all of us. This should not have happened."

Shooting exposes the war at home; Tension simmers here, but rarely reaches the surface
By CLAUDIA ROWE, P-I REPORTER
Monday, July 31, 2006

In intellectual Seattle, where even the most fractious political debates can be discussed over coffee, Friday's shooting at the Jewish Federation building left both pro- and anti-Israeli activists struggling to distance their views from extremism that might erupt in violence.

But the fact of a self-described Muslim announcing his rage at Israel before opening fire was impossible to deny, and brought front and center opinions about conflict in the Middle East that have simmered here for years.

In near-weekly anti-Israeli rallies supporting the Palestinian cause, or vigils held to commemorate the death of college student Rachel Corrie -- killed while protesting Israeli occupation of the West Bank -- or at downtown gatherings denouncing recent Israeli military action in Lebanon, hundreds of self-described peace activists have made plain their position.

Less immediately visible, but no less resolute, are advocates such as Barry Goren, who logs onto his home computer each morning to read the Hebrew media and get a daily dose of news from the Jewish world.

Goren, former director of the Jewish Federation, sends his children to Seattle's Jewish schools and was delighted when his 16-year-old daughter, Molly, returned from a semester in Israel with a newly visceral passion for the Jewish state.

"I think she came back with some Zionist fervor," he said with a chuckle. "We've raised our kids to be proud Jews and to feel connected to Israel since they were very young."

Just as committed on the opposite end of the political spectrum are women such as Cindy Sherbert, 43, who found herself drawn to fight perceived injustices on Israel's part after she began taking Arabic language lessons from a Palestinian.

"It was impossible not to start seeing things from his perspective," she said.

That led Sherbert to increasing involvement with Seattle's Palestine Solidarity Committee, a group that has seen its membership and attendance increase steadily over the last three years.

"The worse things get over there, the more interest we see here," Sherbert said.

This clash of Seattle cultures was bitterly in evidence Friday as Sherbert and dozens of others gathered in Westlake Park to protest Israel -- even as a man was firing a semiautomatic pistol at women in the Jewish Federation building a few blocks away.

"It was just a bizarre coincidence that everything happened all at once that day," said Sherbert, who learned of Haq's attack as she was preparing to attend the rally. "I wasn't sure if we were even going to go ahead with it. I was terribly sad, and didn't want to be seen as insensitive -- I was quite devastated."

But she went, anyway, finding it impossible not to protest Israel's military action.

"We debate, we argue and discuss, and we go on and on and on, frankly never reaching consensus," said Robert Jacobs, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League in the Northwest. Everlasting peaceful debate is just as he likes it.

"This is Seattle. The issues don't get resolved."

Even within the Jewish community, Jacobs added, there is heated debate over Israeli action in the Middle East.

"It goes from one extreme to the other, but that has always stayed within the level of political discourse, no matter how upset it makes people."

The rhetoric, however, sometimes becomes incendiary.

"Human tragedy and destruction are unfolding each day in Lebanon and Palestine with hundreds of innocent civilians killed and thousands more injured as Israeli warplanes continue to bomb Lebanon," said a statement released July 22 by the Arab-American Community Coalition announcing a candlelight vigil at Green Lake. "How many more will die?"

Rita Zawaideh, chairwoman of the coalition, said Sunday that she laid flowers at the federation door after the attack, but acknowledged that her first thought, upon hearing the news, was about the shooter and the potential ramifications for Muslims.

A week ago, concern about the effect being felt by Israelis inspired Robin Boehler, current board chairwoman at the Jewish Federation, to help organize a massive rally on Mercer Island. Sunday, she was meeting again -- this time to coordinate increased security of Jewish groups at home.

Everett woman among victims; The suspect in the attack on a Jewish Center in Seattle lived briefly in an Everett apartment.
By Scott Pesznecker, Herald Writer
July 30, 2006

LAKE STEVENS - Christina Rexroad is an accountant for the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, but her faith lies in Christianity. Rexroad, 29, of Everett, goes to church in Marysville. She dabbles in selling Mary Kay beauty products while raising her 10-year-old son, David. Her husband Jeremy Rexroad died nine years ago.

Seattle police say a man who briefly lived in Everett on Friday shot Rexroad and five other women, killing one of them, at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle.

Pam Waechter, 58, of Seattle, an assistant director at the federation, died at the scene. Rexroad and the other four women remain hospitalized at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Police arrested Naveed Afzal Haq, 30, in connection with the shooting at the Jewish charity. A King County District Court judge set his bail at $50 million on Saturday.

On Friday witnesses said Haq forced his way into the office by holding a gun to the head of a 13-year-old girl, declaring himself an American Muslim upset with Israel. Then he opened fire. He surrendered after police arrived. The gunman spoke with a 911 dispatcher, in a phone call that led police to label the shooting a hate crime.

"Someone getting shot, it doesn't matter what you believe, it's wrong," said Michael Rexroad, of Lake Stevens, Christina's father-in-law. "Nobody deserves this."

Rexroad, a Cascade High School graduate, was about an hour from getting off work for the week when the gunman came in and shot her in the stomach. Rexroad was bleeding so heavily that her heart stopped beating for a few seconds, her father-in-law said.

Her condition was upgraded from critical to serious on Saturday. At best, Michael Rexroad said, she could be home by mid-week. For now, she's heavily sedated with a feeding tube down her throat. She can nod her head to respond to questions. Her mother and sister, who also live in Everett, are by her side. Her son, David, is staying with his grandparents, until his mother can care for him again.

Nobody expected this, her father-in-law said.

"She's a loving, caring person," Rexroad said. "She loves her son, she loves her mom and her family. She appreciates everything that people can do for her."

Haq, the shooting suspect, lived in an apartment near downtown Everett as recently as three weeks ago, said Chris Richey, a neighbor. Haq only lived in the apartment building on Nassau Street for about a month, Richey said. Haq told him he worked as a late-night cashier, Richey said. He was friendly, often stopping to talk politics, and seemed concerned with the violence in the Middle East, Richey said.

Once, when Richey mentioned he was a gun collector, Haq told him he had a handgun locked in a safe deposit box, Richey said. Richey was shocked when federal agents told him what happened Friday.

"He showed no signs of hatred, that's what really blows me away," Richey said.

Haq grew up in Richland. On Saturday a King County District Court judge found probable cause to hold Haq on one count of murder and five counts of attempted murder. He set bail at $50 million.

Haq had requested through a public defender that he be allowed to not personally attend the hearing, and for him to not be photographed or videotaped. The judge denied both requests. Haq entered the courtroom wearing handcuffs, chains and leg shackles, and a white jail jumpsuit that labeled him an "ultra security inmate."

Before entering the courtroom, he briefly glanced at rows of news media but otherwise showed no outward emotion. He has not yet been charged. His family is well-known in the Tri-Cities area's small Muslim community, and his father was a founding member of the Islamic Center of the Tri-Cities, senior member Muhammad Ullah said.

Ullah, a family friend, described Haq as a loner with a gift for writing. He moved to the East Coast to study dentistry after graduating from Richland High School in 1994, but dropped out. Haq went on to complete an engineering degree at Washington State University, Ullah said. In March, police arrested Haq for exposing himself at a Benton County shopping mall.

His visits to the Tri-Cities area became infrequent over the years, Ullah said. In a statement, the Islamic center offered condolences to the shooting victims and said "we disassociate this act from our Islamic teachings and beliefs."

Abdulah Polovina, Imam of the Bosnian Muslim community in Seattle who occasionally works with a Lynnwood mosque, said Islam does not condone violence as an acceptable way to express anger.

"We must learn to live together in peace and harmony," he said. Rabbi Harley Karz-Wagman of Everett's Temple Beth Or said the Jewish community is mourning Friday's events. Two members of his congregation left the Seattle federation office about an hour before shots were fired, he said.

Many people who were still in the building when the shooting happened probably weren't Jewish, Karz-Wagman said. Religious organizations usually hire front-office staff as any business would. Also, Jewish workers would have been inclined to leave early to prepare for Sabbath, he said.

Rexroad and two other women also shot in the abdomen were upgraded to serious condition Saturday. Two others were in satisfactory condition: a 37-year-old woman, five months pregnant, who had been shot in the forearm; and another woman who was shot in the knee, hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg-Hanson said.

Waechter is survived by two adult children, Nicole and Mark, said Rabbi Jim Mirel of Temple B'nai Torah, where Waechter was a past president.

"She was a person everybody loved, everybody enjoyed being with," Mirel said. "She was a tireless worker for the Jewish community."

"This is just an extraordinary shock. We lost a really wonderful colleague, a wonderful friend. It's hard," said Nancy Geiger, the charitable organization's interim chief executive.

Seattle Suspect Allegedly Ambushed Girl
By CURT WOODWARD, Associated Press Writer
Published July 30 2006, 6:22 AM EDT

SEATTLE -- The man suspected in a fatal shooting rampage hid behind a potted plant in a Jewish charity's foyer and forced his way through a security door by holding a gun to a 13-year-old girl's head, the police chief said Saturday.

Once inside, police say, Naveed Afzal Haq opened fire with two semiautomatic pistols. One woman, Pam Waechter, 58, of Seattle was killed at the scene. Five more women were wounded.

Haq, 30, was ordered held on $50 million bail Saturday pending formal charges of murder and attempted murder. Haq, a Muslim, told authorities he was angered by the war in Iraq and U.S. military cooperation with Israel.

"He pointedly blamed the Jewish people for all of these problems," Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske said at a news conference Saturday.

According to a statement of probable cause, Haq told a 911 dispatcher: "These are Jews and I'm tired of getting pushed around and our people getting pushed around by the situation in the Middle East."

Muhammad Ullah, a close family friend and a senior member of a mosque founded in part by Haq's father, described Haq as a quiet loner with few friends. In a statement, the Islamic Center of the Tri-Cities offered condolences to the shooting victims and said "we disassociate this act from our Islamic teachings and beliefs."

Seattle police said Haq picked up the two handguns and spare ammunition just days earlier, and appeared to have targeted the federation after a cursory Internet search for Jewish organizations. He also was stopped shortly before the shootings in Seattle for a minor traffic infraction, and was cited and released, Kerlikowske said. Haq had a valid driver's license and his actions did not raise any suspicion, the chief said.

One of the women wounded in Friday's shooting -- hit in the arm as she shielded her pregnant belly -- helped bring the crisis to an end by crawling into her office, calling 911, and convincing her assailant to talk to dispatchers, Kerlikowske said.

"She's a hero in my eyes," he said at a news conference. That woman, Dayna Klein, 37, was hospitalized at Harborview Medical Center along with the four others wounded.

Jewish Federation officials identified the other wounded women as Cheryl Stumbo, 43; Layla Bush, 23; and Carol Goldman, 35, all of Seattle; and Christina Rexroad, whose age and hometown could not immediately be confirmed. The 13-year-old girl taken hostage at the beginning of the melee was not shot, police said.

When Haq got on the phone with 911 operators, he identified himself by name and said, "This is a hostage situation and I want these Jews to get out," according to a statement of probable cause. At one point, he told the dispatcher he wanted police to call the media and that he had a gun pointed at a woman's head. He said he was acting alone and had not been drinking, court documents said.

The three most seriously wounded women, who had been shot in the abdomen, were upgraded from critical to serious condition Saturday, hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg-Hanson said. The other two were in satisfactory condition Friday. A nursing supervisor refused to say Saturday evening whether they had been released from the hospital. Prosecutors have until Aug. 2 to formally charge Haq, spokesman Dan Donohoe said. They are not yet seeking capital charges, but that could change, he said.

Authorities searched Haq's parents' home and his apartment -- both in the Tri-Cities area of southeastern Washington -- and removed evidence, including computers and Haq's car, Kerlikowske said. Police and the FBI are labeling the shootings a hate crime.

Haq entered the King County courtroom on Saturday wearing handcuffs, chains and leg shackles, and a white jail jumpsuit that labeled him an "ultra security inmate."

Before entering, Haq requested through a public defender that he be allowed to not personally attend the hearing, or for him to not be photographed or videotaped. District Judge Barbara L. Linde denied both requests. Haq briefly glanced at rows of news media in the gallery on his way into the courtroom but otherwise showed no outward emotion.

Waechter, an assistant director at the federation, was described by colleagues as a tireless worker for the Jewish community.

"She was a person everybody loved, everybody enjoyed being with," said Rabbi Jim Mirel of Temple B'nai Torah, where Waechter was a past president. Waechter is survived by two adult children, Nicole and Mark, Mirel said.

Seattle shooter targeted Jews
Norwalk HOUR
Associated Press
July 30, 2006

SEATTLE — The man suspected in a fatal shooting rampage hid behind a potted plant in a Jewish charity's foyer and forced his way through a security door by holding a gun to a 13-year-old girl's head, the police chief said Saturday.

Once inside, police say, Naveed Afzal Haq opened fire with two semiautomatic pistols. One woman, Pam Waechter, 58, of Seattle was killed at the scene. Five more women were wounded.

Haq, 30, was ordered held on $50 million bail Saturday pending formal charges of murder and attempted murder.

Haq, a Muslim, told authorities he was angered by the war in Iraq and U.S. military cooperation with Israel.

"He pointedly blamed the Jewish people for all of these problems," Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske said at a news conference Saturday. According to a statement of probable cause, Haq told a 911 dispatcher: "These are Jews and I'm tired of getting pushed around and our people getting pushed around by the situation in the Middle East."

Muhammad Ullah, a close family friend and a senior member of a mosque founded in part by Haq's father, described Haq as a quiet loner with few friends. In a statement, the Islamic Center of the Tri-Cities offered condolences to the shooting victims and said "we disassociate this act from our Islamic teachings and beliefs."

Seattle police said Haq picked up the two handguns and spare ammunition just days earlier, and appeared to have targeted the federation after a cursory Internet search for Jewish organizations. He also was stopped shortly before the shootings in Seattle for a minor traffic infraction, and was cited and released, Kerlikowske said. Haq had a valid driver's license and his actions did not raise any suspicion, the chief said.

One of the women wounded in Friday's shooting — hit in the arm as she shielded her pregnant belly — helped bring the crisis to an end by crawling into her office, calling 911, and convincing her assailant to talk to dispatchers, Kerlikowske said. That woman, Dayna Klein, 37, was hospitalized at Harborview Medical Center along with the four others wounded.

Jewish Federation officials identified the other wounded women as Cheryl Stumbo, 43; Layla Bush, 23; and Carol Goldman, 35, all of Seattle; and Christina Rexroad, whose age and hometown could not immediately be confirmed. The 13-year-old girl taken hostage at the beginning of the melee was not shot, police said.

Prosecutors have until Aug. 2 to formally charge Haq, spokesman Dan Donohoe said. They are not yet seeking capital charges, but that could change, he said.

Seattle security raised after Jewish center shooting
By Daisuke Wakabayashi
July 29, 2006

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Police stepped up security at Seattle synagogues and mosques on Saturday, a day after a Muslim man who said he was angry at
Israel shot dead one woman and wounded five others at a Jewish center.

Naveed Afzal Haq, 31, burst into the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle on Friday afternoon. He surrendered without a struggle and police arrested him on charges of murder and five counts of attempted murder with bail set at $50 million.

Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske said authorities are treating the shooting as a hate crime based on conversations with police during the rampage.

"He said that he wanted the United States to leave
Iraq, that his people (Muslims) were being mistreated and that the United States was arming Israel," said Kerlikowske, who thinks Haq acted alone and is not part of any terrorist groups.

"He pointedly blamed the Jewish people for all these problems."

Police officers circled Seattle's Seward Park area, the city's traditional Jewish neighborhood and home to three major synagogues. Uniformed guards stood outside Bikur Cholim-Machzikay Hadath and Sephardic Bikur Holim synagogues.

"There is high security," said Robin Boehler, chairwoman of the Jewish Federation. "This is the thing we dread the most happening." She added three of the victims were not Jewish.

Authorities said they were "taking every precaution," searching for explosives and additional suspects, and monitoring the city's synagogues and Jewish organizations.

Haq, a U.S. citizen, grabbed a teenage girl as a hostage to force his way past heavy security and then fired multiple shots from two handguns, police said.

Kerlikowske hailed one of the wounded victims, a pregnant woman whose name has been released, as a hero.

ISRAEL PROTEST RALLY CANCELED

After she was shot in the forearm covering her abdomen, she still rushed to call police and stayed on the line even as the gunman warned her to hang up the phone, the chief said. A hospital spokeswoman said three of the victims remain in critical condition. The surviving women range in age from 23 to 43. The dead woman was identified as Pamela Waechter, 58.

Haq selected the Federation after doing a Web search looking for "something Jewish," Kerlikowske said.

The Jewish federation, a group covering the Jewish community around the Puget Sound region, organized a large rally last weekend to demonstrate support for Israel in its fight against Hizbollah in southern Lebanon. A silent march to protest Israeli actions in Gaza planned for Saturday morning in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland was canceled due to safety concerns, said Arsalan Bukhari, president of the Seattle chapter of the Council of American-Islamic Relations.

"The events that are happening in the Middle East should not spill over into our city," said Bukhari.

In light of the fighting in the Middle East, Seattle police alerted its officers earlier this week to carefully monitor synagogues, temples and mosques, but Kerlikowske said they had received no specific threats. Local media reported Haq was on medication for a bipolar disorder and had a misdemeanor lewd conduct charge pending after allegedly exposing himself at a shopping mall.

Haq picked up the semi-automatic weapons and ammunition at two different shops the day before the shooting after going through the required 5-day waiting period to buy a handgun in Washington state, according to investigators.

Six shot, one killed at Seattle Jewish federation; Five hurt; One person in custody
By PHUONG CAT LE, BRAD WONG, JOHN IWASAKI AND AMY ROLPH, P-I REPORTERs
Friday, July 28, 2006 · Last updated 10:12 p.m. PT

Six women were shot - one fatally - this afternoon at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle by a man who told a witness he was upset about "what was going on in Israel."

Police spokesman Rich Pruitt said there was one shooter, who was apprehended without incident outside the Jewish Federation building at the corner of Third Avenue and Virginia Street.

"We believe it's a lone individual acting out his antagonism," said David Gomez, who heads the FBI's counterterrorism efforts in Seattle.

Authorities did not release many details, but the FBI said the alleged shooter was between 30 and 40 and agents were investigating the incident as a hate crime. When asked at a news conference if that meant the alleged shooter was Muslim, Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske said: "You could infer that."

One woman was killed in the attack, police said.

Harborview Medical Center spokeswoman Pamela Steele said five victims were taken to the hospital, all women ranging in age from the 20s to the 40s. Each suffered gunshot wounds to the abdomen, knee, groin or arm. Three were in critical condition. Two were in satisfactory condition. One of the women in satisfactory condition is about 20 weeks pregnant and was shot in the arm. Doctors believe she will be OK.

The gunman, armed with what police said was a large caliber, semi-automatic handgun, forced his way through the security door at the federation after an employee had punched in her security code, Marla Meislin-Dietrich, a database coordinator for the center, told The Associated Press. "He said 'I am a Muslim American, angry at Israel,' before opening fire on everyone," Meislin-Dietrich said. "He was randomly shooting at everyone."

There were about 18 people in the Jewish Federation building at the time, police said.

Fighting has raged in the Middle East since Hezbollah, a Shiite group based in Lebanon, went into Israel and kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others. Israel retaliated by striking targets in Lebanon and has sent troops into the southern part of the country. Since the conflict began, more than 400 have been killed in Lebanon and more than 50 soldiers and civilians have been killed in Israel.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, Seattle, issued a statement Friday night.

"The Muslim community of Greater Seattle area watched in horror as news broke of a shooting at the Jewish Federation building ... We categorically condemn this and any similar acts of violence ... We pray for the safety and health of those injured and offer our heartfelt condolences to the family of the victims of this attack. We also hope that the perpetrator of this crime is brought to justice."

Authorities received a 911 call at 4:03 p.m. with reports of shots fired at the Jewish Federation and a possible hostage situation, Assistant Seattle Police Chief Nick Metz said. Officers converged on the scene and took a man into custody at 4:15 p.m., Kerlikowske said. Shortly before that, the alleged gunman had been talking to a police dispatcher, the police chief said.

Witnesses to the afternoon shooting and people who work at the Jewish Federation described a chaotic, terrifying scene. Kami Knatt works at the federation's Holocaust center. As she exited the building, she saw a wounded coworker fall down. Knatt took her sweater off and tried to stop the bleeding.

"I asked her 'Are you OK?'. She said, 'No, I've been shot.' I kept saying it's going to be OK."

The victim told Knatt: "I'm going to black out, I'm going to black out." Knatt replied: "You're going to be alright."

Several workers and victims ran toward a nearby Starbucks. There was a small pool of blood outside the coffee shop. Nathaniel Mullins, 43, was turning onto Lenora Street with his 19-year-old daughter when he heard police say, "Get back! Get back!"

Mullins said he saw two shooting victims. "They were covered in blood," he said.

"We were scared, heck yeah. It shook me for a moment." Zach Carstensen, who is the director of government relations for the Jewish Federation, said he heard shots and screams.

"People started running and I started running with them," Carstensen said.

Asked whether he thought his office had been targeted because of the conflict in the Mideast, Carstensen said he wasn't sure. "We're all a little shaken," he said.

Sam Peterson, 18, who lives in an apartment on Third and Blanchard, said she was walking to the Lenora Apartment Building when she heard at least one gunshot. She saw a blond woman "drop to the ground. She screamed."

Immediately after the shooting, a SWAT team searched the federation building, looking for any other victims, anyone hiding or any other possible shooters, Pruitt said.
Police blocked off several city blocks to investigate. The suspect's vehicle was recovered near the shooting scene, Metz said.

"This is a sad day in the city of Seattle," Mayor Greg Nickels said at a late evening news conference. "This is a crime of hate and there's no place for that in Seattle."

Kerlikowske said police officers throughout the city were being asked to step up patrols of synagogues and mosques.

"We are protecting mosques because there is always concern about retaliatory activity," he said.

Three of the women in critical condition were out of surgery last night. All of the women were being held overnight, according to a hospital spokeswoman. Hospital officials and relatives confirmed the names of four of the victims. Cheryl Stumbo and Layla Bush, 23, were in critical condition last night. Carol Goldman was in satisfactory condition with a knee injury.

A hospital spokesman identified the pregnant woman as Dayna Klein, who was in satisfactory condition with a gunshot wound in her left forearm and was scheduled for surgery Friday night.

Kathryn Bush said last night that her daughter, Layla, who worked as the Federation's office manager and receptionist, said: "She's out of surgery, but that's all we know," "We're taking it moment by moment. I'm really in shocked right now, but I'm trusting in the Lord to bring me through," she said from her Florida home.

She said her daughter, 23, was "really bright" and always wanted to work for non-profits and foundations. She joined the federation about six months ago. The Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle was established 1926. According to its Web site, its mission is to "ensure Jewish survival and to enhance the quality of Jewish life locally, in Israel and worldwide."

Rabbi Daniel Weiner at Temple De Hirsch Sinai in Seattle, said his congregation was planning to meet in Bellevue this evening anyway, but was waiting for police to advise them on whether to go ahead with the services. The Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle is a fund raising and fund allocation organization.

"It is the Jewish version of the United Way," Weiner said. He said he is at a loss to understand why people in that building would be attacked.

"To delve into the mind of a clearly troubled and disturbed person is impossible," Weiner said. "It is heartbreaking to think of what is transpiring."

The Jewish Federation building has tight security, with gates and buzzers, puzzling many who go there as to how the gunman entered.

"The whole thing is an incredibly terrifying thing," said Vicki Robbins-Silverman, a member of Seattle's Jewish community and retired military wife. "It's unbelievable."

Silverman had visited the Jewish Federation only on Wednesday to pick up a friend, and found it "creepy" watching the building known for its community services surrounded by turmoil. The Jewish Federation houses a community Jewish newspaper and various member agencies, including the Washington Holocaust Educational Resource Center, the Jewish Education Council and other community services.

Word of the shooting quickly ricocheted around the world. Silverman heard from a relative in Los Angeles who saw it on television. In Israel, Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post newspapers had the story on their online front pages, just below stories about the fight against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iantha Sidell, past board chair of Seattle's Jewish federation, went to Harborview after the shooting.

"This is just a disaster," she said. "We value every life. I don't know what we're going to do about it. We believe in life."

Hatred hits home: 6 shot at Jewish office
By Seattle Times staff
Seattle Times staff reporters Mike Carter, Jennifer Sullivan, Cheryl Phillips, Brian Alexander, Ken Armstrong, Christine Clarridge, Sara Jean Green, Janet Tu, Jonathan Martin, Joe Mullin and Anne Kim contributed to this report.

A Muslim man angry with Israel barged into the offices of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle Friday afternoon and opened fire with a handgun, killing one woman and wounding five others before surrendering to police.

Three of the women were in critical condition late Friday.

A law-enforcement source identified the arrested suspect as Naveed Afzal Haq, 30, who until recently had lived in Everett, and said Haq apparently has a history of mental illness. Court records show Haq has a charge of lewd conduct pending against him in Benton County.

The shooting came a day after the FBI had warned Jewish organizations nationwide to be on alert after Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon and al-Qaida's second in command urged that the war raging in the Middle East be carried to the U.S. However, the law-enforcement source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there is no evidence Haq was involved with any group.

"He said he hates Israel," said the source, who is part of the Seattle Joint Terrorism Task Force, which was called in to help investigate the shootings.

David Gomez, the assistant special agent-in-charge of the Seattle FBI office, said there is "nothing to indicate he is part of a larger organization."

"We believe he is a lone individual with antagonism toward this organization," said Gomez.

A violent year so far

Friday's shooting at the Jewish Federation building in Seattle was the latest in a spate of high-profile slayings this year in the region.

Feb. 7: Three people, Darren S. Christian, 28; Lindy A. Cochran, 21; and Daniel J. Varo, 22, were fatally shot in a Tacoma home in what police described as execution-style slayings. Charged with aggravated first-degree murder and first-degree robbery in connection with the slayings were Ulysses "Moonie" Handy III, 24; his cousin, Darryl David Pierce, 24; and Sirree Tariq Muhammad, 18. Pierce's girlfriend, Ronee L. Gutierrez, 20, was charged with robbery and three counts of felony first-degree murder.

March 25: Kyle Huff, 28, opened fire at an early morning after-rave party on Capitol Hill and killed six people and wounded two others before shooting himself. Killed in the shooting rampage were Jason Travers, 32; Jeremy Martin, 26; Justin Schwartz, 22; Christopher Williamson, 21; Suzanne Thorne, 15; and Melissa Moore, 14.

July 11: Seattle residents Mary Cooper, 56, and her daughter Susanna Stodden, 27, were fatally shot while hiking in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office has identified people who may have information related to the slayings, but have not made an arrest.

July 17: Firefighters doused a Kirkland house fire and discovered the bodies of 28-year-old Olga Milkin, her sister, Lyubov Botvina, 24, and Milkin's two sons, 5-year-old Justin and 3-year-old Andrew. Neighbor Conner Michael Schierman, 24, has been charged with stabbing the four people to death before setting the fire.

July 20: Three men were killed and three others wounded when a car containing five men and teens was fired upon by two men in the driveway of a Skyway home. Killed in the car were Sovintha Nhem, 23, and Sophea Sun, 20. William Belk, 28, one of two men who allegedly confronted the group in the car, was killed by "friendly fire" from his friend, Dimitri Sidorchuk, police said. Sidorchuk, 23, who lives at the house, has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder, one count of first-degree manslaughter and several counts of first-degree assault.

Witnesses said the man announced he was an Muslim American as he forced his way into the federation offices just after 4 p.m. and fired randomly at employees with a semiautomatic 9-mm handgun. Seattle Police Assistant Chief Nick Metz said there were at least 18 people in the offices when the shooting started.

Witnesses say the gunman shot one receptionist, then ordered her to dial 911. He then took the phone from her.

"He told the police that it was a hostage situation and he wanted us to get our weapons out of Israel," said one woman who heard the account from the wounded co-worker. The woman, who would not allow her name to be used, said she was at her desk when she heard what she thought were balloons popping.

"It went 'Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!' and then we heard a woman scream," said the employee. The man surrendered about 15 minutes after the shooting started. The center is located on Third Avenue between Lenora and Virginia streets in Belltown.

During a news conference Friday night, Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske said that, based on the conversation Haq had with 911 dispatchers, police are treating the shootings as a hate crime. A Harborview Medical Center spokesman said all the victims were women, ranging in age from their early 20s to 40s. Three were in critical condition and underwent surgery Friday evening. One woman, age 43, was shot in the abdomen, according to Seattle Fire Department medics. Another was 17 weeks pregnant.

One of the victims was identified by family members as 23-year-old Layla Bush. "We just heard she's alive a minute or two ago," said her mother, Kathryn Bush, from her home in Panama City, Fla. The other wounded victims have been identified as Carol Goldman, Dayna Klein, Christina Rexroad and Cheryl Stumbo.

Most of the shooting victims were able to flee the building. Federation employee Marla Meislin-Dietrich said security videotapes show the gunman shoved his way past another employee who had just entered a pass code to open a security door.

"He was armed and he pushed his way in," she said.

Amy Wasser-Simpson, the vice president for planning and community services for the Jewish Federation, said the man told staff members, "I'm a Muslim American; I'm angry at Israel," then began shooting, Wasser-Simpson said she heard the account from staff members who witnessed the shootings.

Shortly after that, one staff member who was shot twice escaped through the back door as well, Wasser-Simpson said. Wasser-Simpson was not in the building because she was working from home. She also is in charge of the organization at present because the federation's new chief executive officer has yet to start the job and the interim CEO is out of town.

Haq's parents were shaken by the news that their son was in custody for the shootings, said Haq's Kennewick defense attorney, Larry Stephenson.

"I talked to his father, and his mother is crying, and they don't know what is going on," Stephenson said. "They are very, very shook up. They haven't been able to reach their son."

Haq had been charged with misdemeanor lewd conduct in Benton County for allegedly exposing himself in a public place in Kennewick, Stephenson said. He declined to elaborate. The charge is punishable by up to a year in jail. The case had been scheduled to go to trial in Benton County District Court on Thursday, but was postponed.

Stephenson said he does not believe Haq is married or has children. Stephenson said he did not believe Haq had a job. Haq went to college, Stephenson said, but he declined to say where. Asked if Haq had any mental-health issues, Stephenson said he couldn't comment. "I'm really not OK to discuss that," he said.

Haq's father, Mian A. Haq, was a founding member of the Islamic Centre of Tri-Cities in Richland, said center member Youseff Shehadeh. He described the younger Haq as a loner who attended holidays at the center but was barely involved in recent years. Naveed Haq's parents moved into a new suburb in Pasco less than three years ago after living in nearby Richland for more than a decade, said Maureen Hales, a neighbor.

Mian Haq was involved in an Islamic center in Richland, but he did not discuss his religion with his neighbors, said Hales. She said she had not seen Naveed Haq, but found his parents and his younger brother, Hasan, to be "quite enjoyable." The two families exchanged food, and Maureen Hales said she watches the Haqs' house when they're away.

Naveed Haq lived in an apartment building at 2924 Nassau St. in Everett until about two weeks ago, when he abruptly left, said tenant Chris Richey. The landlady told Richey that Haq was heading to Pakistan. Richie often talked with Haq about guns and politics, though little stuck out. Richey said Haq didn't like President Bush. Haq told Richey he owned a .45-caliber handgun, which he kept locked up in safety deposit box. The law-enforcement source said Haq had a license to carry a concealed weapon.

"There was something strange about him," Richey said. "There was something about him I didn't like."

A friend, Andres Atencio, 29, a real-estate agent in Maple Valley, said he lost touch with Haq after high school. He described Haq as studious and friendly.

"He was pretty much just a normal guy. He was a little more toward the academic side than the average high-school person," Atencio said. "He was the kind of guy when you talked to him he was always laughing ... not outgoing but not reclusive either."

Hundreds of people have died in Israel and Lebanon since Lebanon-based Hezbollah guerrillas seized two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid July 12, prompting Israeli air strikes in Lebanon and a barrage of rockets fired at Israel by Hezbollah.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, founded in 1926, is an umbrella organization for the local Jewish community. It raises money for Jewish social-welfare organizations, runs youth and adult Jewish educational programs, and engages in efforts in support of Israel. It was a sponsor of the Solidarity with Israel rally on Mercer Island last Sunday.

The federation's mission is to ensure Jewish survival and enhance the quality of Jewish life locally, in Israel and worldwide.

Friday is the Jewish Sabbath, and rabbis were trying to find out more about security in preparation for that night's services. Robert Jacobs, the regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, issued a recommendation to every Jewish institution, synagogue and temple that they get their people out of their buildings "until we find out if it's a lone incident."

"We're trying to keep the community as calm as possible," he added.

Kerlikowske said extra officers would be posted at temples, synagogues and mosques in the area even though Seattle police and the FBI believe the shooter acted alone.

He said police would be posted at mosques to prevent "retaliatory" crimes.

Several rabbis said Friday night they were continuing with services despite the shootings. "Even if [the shooting] is based on hate, we're not going to let that have any kind of victory over our community gathering," said Rabbi Jonathan Singer of Seattle's Temple Beth Am. Rabbi Daniel Weiner of Temple De Hirsch Sinai, which has locations in Seattle and Bellevue, said early Friday evening that he was checking with police to see if more security would be needed for that evening's service.

Rabbi Jim Mirel of Temple B'nai Torah in Bellevue said he was "extremely shocked, extremely saddened" by the situation, and that his congregation was worried about a member of their temple who works at the federation. Both Jewish and Muslim advocacy groups condemned the shootings Friday.

The Washington, D.C.-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, issued a statement calling the shootings a "senseless attack on a religious institution."

"The American Muslim and Jewish communities must do whatever is within their power to prevent the current conflict in the Middle East from being transplanted to this country," the council said.

The New York-based United Jewish Communities, which represents 150 national Jewish federations nationwide, called the shootings "shocking and dismaying, and our hearts are full of sympathy, as well as prayers for the full recovery of those injured."

Tight building security breached
By Jennifer Sullivan and Cheryl Phillips, Seattle Times staff reporters
July 29, 2006

Security has always been in the forefront of the minds of many in Seattle's Jewish community.

In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle increased its building security, and it did so again in the wake of recent violence between Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah guerrillas.

"We have very tight security at that building, especially since 9/11," said Iantha Sidell, former president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle. "We have bulletproof windows, and you have to be buzzed to get in."

Amy Wasser-Simpson, the federation's vice president for planning and community services, said the organization has an outer door that is open to the public and that leads into a foyer. There, staff members must punch in a security code to get into the interior of the building, and visitors must have an appointment before the receptionist will buzz them into the building.

There is a policy posted in the foyer telling people that if they don't have an appointment, they need to call and make one.

Those strict security guidelines were implemented by many Jewish organizations in 2000, after a gunman walked into Jewish Community Centers of Greater Los Angeles in August 1999 and shot five people.

But none of those security procedures took into account the possibility of someone forcing their way into the building as someone else entered, said federation employee Marla Meislin-Dietrich.

"He was armed and he pushed his way in," she said.

Police arrested Naveed Afzal Haq, 30, in connection with the shootings.

Seattle Rabbi Richard Tobin said the shootings did not come as a surprise, because of events in the Middle East.

Still, Sidell said she doesn't know why anyone would harm the nearly 35 people who work in the downtown Seattle office building.

"I can't imagine someone would come in and shoot at the federation," Sidell said, describing the Jewish Federation as a United Way-like welfare group that assists many, including the homeless.

Sidell said she hasn't heard anything about recent threats. She said the federation started raising money last week to send to Israel to assist in efforts there.