Seattle, Wash. - Six Shot, One Killed at Jewish Center By A Muslim
Seattle, Wash. - One woman Pam Wachter, 58, has been killed and five other women were injured late Friday when a gunman with 2 semi automatic opened fire at the Jewish organization in downtown Seattle.
Seattle police said that authorities were "taking every precaution" in searching for explosives and additional suspects.
The Vice President said that the man got through security at the building and shouted, "I'm a Muslim American; I'm angry at Israel," then began shooting, the shootings are being treated as a hate crime, police said, and they do not think the suspect was acting as part of a terrorist group.
“We believe at this point that it’s just a lone individual acting out some kind of antagonism toward a particular organization,” said David Gomez, the FBI agent who heads its counterterrorism unit in Seattle.
Mr. Gomez said his agency had been “monitoring” both Jewish and Muslim organizations, and reaching out to their leaders “for the last couple of weeks, since the beginning of hostilities in the Middle East.”
Frederick Dutt, an F.B.I. agent, said the agency had issued two bulletins, on July 21 and on Wednesday, urging “vigilance” at organizations and religious locations in light of the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in the Middle East. “Not specific targets because we didn’t have that information, to be honest,” he said. And the F.B.I. investigated two mosques for ties to Al Qaeda.
The police closed off several blocks around the area and briefly required people to stay inside other buildings nearby, and they recovered a handgun that the suspect put down before he surrendered.
The F.B.I.’s Seattle office, said that the suspect was a United States citizen and that agents were interviewing his relatives.
U/D: 07/30/06
Brooklyn, NY - In front of every Shul there's a NYPD cop & a RMP, w/the light on.
Also all camps had the NY State Police or Sherrifs advising to be on the look out.
Seattle police said that authorities were "taking every precaution" in searching for explosives and additional suspects.
The Vice President said that the man got through security at the building and shouted, "I'm a Muslim American; I'm angry at Israel," then began shooting, the shootings are being treated as a hate crime, police said, and they do not think the suspect was acting as part of a terrorist group.
“We believe at this point that it’s just a lone individual acting out some kind of antagonism toward a particular organization,” said David Gomez, the FBI agent who heads its counterterrorism unit in Seattle.
Mr. Gomez said his agency had been “monitoring” both Jewish and Muslim organizations, and reaching out to their leaders “for the last couple of weeks, since the beginning of hostilities in the Middle East.”
Frederick Dutt, an F.B.I. agent, said the agency had issued two bulletins, on July 21 and on Wednesday, urging “vigilance” at organizations and religious locations in light of the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in the Middle East. “Not specific targets because we didn’t have that information, to be honest,” he said. And the F.B.I. investigated two mosques for ties to Al Qaeda.
The police closed off several blocks around the area and briefly required people to stay inside other buildings nearby, and they recovered a handgun that the suspect put down before he surrendered.
The F.B.I.’s Seattle office, said that the suspect was a United States citizen and that agents were interviewing his relatives.
U/D: 07/30/06
Brooklyn, NY - In front of every Shul there's a NYPD cop & a RMP, w/the light on.
Also all camps had the NY State Police or Sherrifs advising to be on the look out.
posted by VOS IZ NEIAS @ 7/29/2006 09:52:00 PM
8 Comments:
At 11:34 PM,
Anonymous said…
Seattle State Police and Sherrifs Dept are protecting synagogues today after yesterdays suspected hate killing, ant the went to more then 280 camps relaying the message to be on the alert and on the lookout
At 12:51 AM,
Anonymous said…
May Hokodosh BH have rachmonus on us. Let us daven for Acheinu benei Yisroel bechol mokom sheheim.
At 12:58 AM,
Anonymous said…
One of the five wounded women was pregnant.
At 1:52 AM,
Anonymous said…
Seattle Jewish Shooter, Mel Gibson Should Share Cell
On Friday, at least five people were shot, one of them fatally, at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle. Reportedly, a witness said that the man said he was a Muslim who was angry at Israel.
Reportedly, staff members said they overheard him saying “´I am a Muslim American, angry at Israel,”
Next Mel Gibson who was arrested for DUI, the creator of the “Passion of The Christ” apparently from a witness became a self-imposed lethal weapon. Reports are “Apparently, he went on a rampage against Jews, whom he thinks are responsible “for all the wars in the world.” Gibson also cursed and reportedly said “f****** Jews” and asked the deputy who pulled him over whether he was a Jew. Next he said "You motherf****r. I´m going to f*** you," threatening to flex his celebrity muscles to get back at the officer.
If all of this was not so serious, the two could have shared their thoughts and hatreds while sitting in the same jail cell.
The American Muslim has given himself up and is now in prison. Gibson also faces a jail sentence.
At 2:01 AM,
Anonymous said…
Mel Gibson deserves this kind of publicity and he brought it on himself. This is great.
At 2:24 AM,
Anonymous said…
Suspect's bail set at $50 million
About a half hour before he opened fire Friday afternoon at the downtown Seattle Jewish Federation offices, Naveed Afzal Haq's white pickup truck was stopped and cited by a Seattle Police traffic officer before being let go, Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske said at a press conference this afternoon.
The violation was a minor one -- driving on Third Avenue during a time when only buses are allowed on the street during the closure of the Metro's bus tunnel. "There was nothing (Haq) did to arouse the officer's suspicions,' Kerlikowske said.
But within only minutes, Haq was hiding behind a large potted plant in the foyer of an organization he found on the Internet with two recently purchased semi-automatic handguns, waiting to abduct a teenager and force his way into the office.
Police say Haq on Friday went on to kill one woman -- identified today by friends of her family as Pam Waechter, of Bellevue, the federation's annual campaign director.
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Harborview Medical Center said this morning that the condition of three on the victims has been upgraded from critical to serious condition. The other two continue to be listed in satisfactory condition.
The disclosure about the traffic stop was one of several new details Kerlikowske released, and came shortly after King County District Court Judge Barbara Linde this afternoon set bail for Haq at $50 million.
Once inside the building, Haq, who also carried a large amount of ammunition, started shooting, wounding Dayna Klein, a pregnant woman in the arm.
On Friday, Marla Meislin-Dietrich, a database coordinator for the center, told reporters: "He said, 'I am a Muslim American, angry at Israel,' before opening fire on everyone," "He was randomly shooting at everyone."
Today Kerlikowske heralded Klein as a hero.
He said the pregnant woman had protected her womb for Haq's salvo with her arm. She fell to the floor after she was shot, but managed to crawl back to her office and call police despite Haq's warnings not to call 911.
Kerlikowske said Haq specifically told the woman "not to do that. But she continued to tell the 911 operators what was happening."
After listening to the 911 tapes, Kerlikowske described Haq as initially enraged. Haq "wanted the U.S. to leave Iraq, that his people had been mistreated, that the U.S. was arming Israel, and he didn't care if he died," Kerlikowske recounted.
Kerlikowske also called the 911 dispatchers heroes.
He credited the dispatchers with calming the distraught man until finally he said. "'I'm going to lay down my guns.'" About 12 minutes later, he exited the building with his hands on his head and was arrested by police.
Kerlikowske said the 30-year-old man, who is from the Tri Cities area, legally purchased the guns at two different gun shops, picking them up after the required waiting period on Thursday -- the day before the shooting.
He was booked into the King County jail late Friday night after he was questioned by police.
Today, Haq was lead into the courtroom in a prison t-shirt that said "KCJ ultra-security inmate." The prosecutor's office, under questioning by Linde, said at this time the county does not plan to present a capital case against Haq -- one that could result in the death penalty or life imprisonment. But the prosecution team said circumstances might change.
Photographers and reporters jammed the small courtroom straining to catch a glimpse of the suspect who was separated from the courtroom by a glass partition. Haq had asked the judge through his attorney to bar all cameras and video taping in the courtroom. But Linde denied that motion, saying she had to balance the "fair trial" argument with the fact the court was a public forum.
King County Prosecutor Dan Donahoe said his office was reviewing the case and planned to file formal charges on Wednesday.
"We wanted the high bail to ensure he remains in custody," Donohoe said after Saturday's court appearance.
Kerlikowske said police served warrants on two residences in the Tri-Cities, including Haq's apartment and his parents' home. There they seized at least three computers.
That evidence had just arrived in Seattle this afternoon Kerlikowske said. But he indicated police believed the Haq had used the Internet to target the foundation after searching for any Jewish-related buildings.
In a phone interview today, Robert Jacobs, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League of Seattle, said. "I'm exhausted. I've had a sleepless night with the families who were shot, including Pam Waechter. You read about things like this in the paper and said it's a good thing this doesn't happen in Seattle. This shows this happens anywhere and we cannot weaken our vigilance."
Yousef Shehadeb, 46, a member of the Islamic Center of the Tri-Cities, said Haq's family is well-known in southeastern Washington's small Muslim community.
"I can't even describe how horrible everyone in the community feels. Shock, disbelief," Shehadeb said.
Shehadeb recalled Haq as quiet and something of a loner. Shehadeb said he and Haq's father, Mian Haq, both work at the Hanford nuclear reservation, as do many members of the area's Muslim community.
Mian Haq was listed in the facility's directory, but it was not clear what type of work he did. All workers at Hanford must have federal security clearance, which includes a background check. No one answered the door to an Associated Press reporter on Saturday at the Haq residence north of Pasco.
The shootings come just weeks after Jewish leaders told Congress that there was a "critical threat" to their institutions nationwide because of escalating tensions in the Middle East. The FBI has labeled the shootings a "hate crime" based on what the gunman told police in a 911 call.
The Arab American Community Coalition reacted "with shock and sorrow" to the shootings. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families," said the coalition's Rita Zawaideh in a statement faxed to the media this morning. "We urge our law enforcement agencies to take all necessary actions to prevent such crims from happening against Jews, Arabs and Muslims in the future."
The group cancelled a march that had been scheduled today to call for a ceasefire in the Middle East "in light of yesterday's violent actions, and out of concern for the safety of members of the Arab-American community and the general public."
"Violence against anyone because of ethincity or religion does not advance the cause of peace, justice and liberation in Lebanon, Palestine or Israel." And speaking of Seattle and its diverse religious and ethic community, the statement continued: "This crime is not a reflection of what our community is about."
Standing outside the Idris Mosque in Northgate Saturday night about a dozen Muslim Americans and Pakistani-Americans said they wanted to express their sympathy for the shooting victims and support for the Jewish community.
"Our communties strongly condemn this mindless and hate filled crime against innocent people," Aziz Junejo said during a media briefing. "Our sincere condolences and heartfelt sympathy goes to the families of these victims of this attack and to the Jewish community."
After reading a prepared statement Junejo said in an interview that the gunman was not a familiar name among leaders in the Puget Sound Muslim community. He also said that he and others were planning to visit the injured shooting victims, perhaps as early as Sunday.
They first wanted to make sure that such a visit could happen privately, away from the media.
Junejo said he felt compelled to speak up because of the deep well of support Seattle's Jewish community showed local Muslims and Arabs after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"They have reached out to us," he said.
"Their pain is our pain," Junejo added. "Their suffering is our suffering."
At 3:24 AM,
Anonymous said…
Mel Gibson deserves this kind of publicity and he brought it on himself.
This is great.
At 11:00 PM,
Anonymous said…
I am aware that when a violent incident like the one in Seattle occurs, the authorities want to keep public panic down to a minimum. But for an official to issue what sounds awfully like a denial during what certainly seems like an incident of terrorism -- let's define terrorism as murderous sudden politically motivated violence -- well, that sounds like irresponsibility in the other direction, of the "don't worry folks, we've just struck an iceberg, but we've got everything under control so go back to your cabins," variety.
An honest answer for the FBI assistant special agent locally in charge of counter-terrorism, David Gomez, to have given -- which at least would have reassured the public that their government is not trying to downplay or cover up terrorist activity -- would have been something like "look, we don't know if it's terrorism-related, it's too soon to tell right now, but we are definitely looking into that possibilty." He wouldn't have been flatly saying it WAS terrorism -- but he he would't have been saying it WASN'T either,downplaying the possibility and looking like an ostrich with its head in the sand.
But instead, no doubt at the direction of his bosses, he declared, just an hour or so after the incident "there's nothing to indicate that it's terrorism-related," adding "we believe ... it's a lone individual acting out his antagonism," [quotes from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer story on the shootings]. By this time, the media had already reported that the gunman had told the people in the building "I am a Muslim American, angry at Israel," which certainly frames this in the public's mind as a politically motivated terrorism incident, which wouldn't have been the case if he had declared "I'm angry because my life stinks," or "I'm mad at women because my girfriend dumped me," or some such thing.
The too-quick federal denial that this was terrorism [and the implied principle that terrorists can only belong to identifiable groups; a lone-wolf assassin motivated by political goals could not thus be a "terrorist," which is completely incorrect] is reminiscent of other recent past terrorist attacks initially brushed off by law enforcement authorities as "not terrorism."
There was the hasty conclusion that El Sayyid Nosair was not a terrorist when he assassinated controversial Zionist rabbi Meir Kahane in November 1990; if the police or the feds had quickly followed up on Nosair's terrorist links at the time of the Kahane killing, found in Arabic-language tapes and documents at his apartment, that might have led them to Nosair's political and religious mentor, Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, and and perhaps prevented the first World Trade Center attack, in February 1993. Only after the bombing, which killed six people and wounded 1,000, did authorities discover that Nosair had been part of Abdel-Rahman's group of WTC conspirators -- and that the Kahane killing was indeed part of a terrorist-related "seditious conspiracy."
That was not the only intance in which the authorities were WAY too quick to declare that "it was just a lone nut gunman, no terrorism involved" -- similar claims were heard in March 1994, when a Lebanese expatriate taxi driver, Rasheed Baz, opened fire on a van carrying a bunch of Lubavitch Hasidic teenagers on the Brooklyn Bridge, killing one of them, Ari Halberstam, and wounding several others. Authorities intially dismissed the murder as merely a case of "road rage," (although Baz was convicted and sentenced to 141 years in jail), but just as they did in the Kahane killing, the FBI eventually re-classified the shooting as a terrorist event -- but not until 2000, and only after considerable lobbying effort by the dead boy's mother Deborah Halberstam.
The authorities also very quickly declared that Egyptian immigrant Ali Hassan Abu Ali Kamal acted out of anger and despair at having lost all of his money on bad investments when he opened fire on visitors on the observation deck of the Empire State Building if February 1997, killing a Danish tourist and wounding six other people before putting his last bullet into his own head -- even though a handwritten note carried by the gunman claimed this was a punishment attack against the "enemies of Palestine."
And they similarly quickly dismissed terrorism as a cause in the July 4, 2002 shooting at the El Al ticket counter at the airport in Los Angeles perpetrated by Egyptian-born Hesham Mohamed Ali Hadayet, known to be a believer in wild conspiracy theories about Jews and for having a great "hate for Israel". Even though the initial investigation even pointed to possible ties to al Qaeda, the FBI quickly denied any terrorist links, mentioning as possible motives instead a work dispute, despondency over his financial problems or the desire to commit a hate crime (I thought the whole point of "hate crimes" laws the liberals are so in love with was to punish the terroristic nature of such offenses as destroying someone else's house of worship or killing them because of their ethnicity).
It was not until April 2003 -- over nine-months after the fact -- that they finally got around to acknowledging what was pretty clear to everyone else from the get-go -- that the LAX shooting, in which two people were killed before the guards finally killed Hadayet, was an act of terrorism, even though Hadayet apparently belionged to no organized group.
How many months -- or years -- will go by before they finally inevitably re-classify this latest murderous incident in Seattle as "terrorism related?"
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