Muslim Man Shoots 5 Jewish Women In A Temple

Suspect ticketed before Jewish center shootings
Police: Pregnant woman was shot in arm protecting her abdomen

SEATTLE, Washington (CNN) -- A man accused of killing one woman and wounding five others at a Jewish center Friday was ticketed for a minor traffic violation a half hour before the shootings, the Seattle police chief said Saturday.

The suspect, Naveed Afzal Haq, a U.S. citizen of Pakistani descent, did "nothing to arouse the officer's suspicion," Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske said in a news conference in which he provided new details of the shootings.

Three of the shooting survivors were in serious condition, according to Harborview Medical Center; the other two victims were in satisfactory condition, including a woman who is five months pregnant. Police said she was shot in the arm while covering her abdomen.

The wounded range in age from 23 to 43. Although all were women, nothing indicated that women specifically were targeted, Kerlikowske said.

Haq was ordered held on $50 million bail Saturday pending formal charges of murder and attempted murder, according to The Associated Press.

The 30-year-old Haq, of Pasco, about 200 miles southeast of Seattle, is being held in King County Jail.

According to Kerlikowske, Haq was upset over three world events: U.S. involvement in Iraq; the U.S. backing of Israel; and what Haq said was the mistreatment of the Pakistani people.

Haq found the Jewish center by researching "something Jewish" on the Internet, Kerlikowske said.

The day before the shootings, Haq picked up .40-caliber and .45-caliber semiautomatic handguns from two different stores in the Seattle area after honoring the waiting period for purchasing weapons, Kerlikowske said.

Once he arrived at the Jewish center -- a heavily fortified building with bulletproof windows and security cameras -- Haq hid behind a plant outside one of the center's locked doors. When a young girl approached, he grabbed her and forced her to take him inside, Kerlikowske said.

"She could not have kept him out," the chief said. "She was a hostage at gunpoint."

After asking for the manager, Haq began shooting people inside the center about 4 p.m., Kerlikowske said. Eighteen people were inside the building at the time. One of the first victims was the pregnant woman.

According to witnesses, Haq said only that no one should call 911, Kerlikowske said.

"She crawled back to her office, and that's exactly what she did -- called 911," Kerlikowske said of the pregnant woman. "She was able to get him to take the telephone."

Once Haq began talking to emergency dispatchers, he calmed down, Kerlikowske said. He told the dispatchers: "I'm going to surrender and I'm laying down my gun," Kerlikowske said.

The 37-year-old woman confirmed to police that he put down the weapon, the chief said, calling her "a hero in my eyes."

Search warrants were executed at Haq's apartment and at his parents' home, Kerlikowske said. "A number of items of evidence" were seized, he said, including three computers.
Police watch temples, mosques

Police were protecting temples and mosques Saturday out of fears of retaliation, Kerlikowske said.

In a written statement, the Council on American-Islamic Relations on Friday condemned the attack.

"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 Washington-based civil rights and advocacy group said.

Robert Jacobs, Pacific Northwest Regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, said the league has been warning Jewish institutions to be wary and have adequate security because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

If they cannot, he said, it would be better for Jews "not to congregate in one location that might be an obvious site."

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels described Friday's shooting as "a crime of hate."

"There's no place for that in the city of Seattle," he said. "This was a purposeful hateful act, as far as we know, by an individual acting alone."



Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/07/29/se...ting/index.html

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Seattle Suspect Allegedly Ambushed Girl

By CURT WOODWARD
Associated Press Writer


SEATTLE (AP) -- 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.

Didn't you already do this one?

He did already do this one yes. But apparently he failed trolling 101 and got his own thread locked.

But, hey-way to prove my point all over again.

-Kiamat Dusk

Well I suppose it saves us having to go to a news web site, Kiamet can bring the news to us.

This thread is Locked for Linden Review.

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