Last update - 00:00 21/12/2006
Gunman in U.S. Jewish center shooting won't face death penalty
By The Associated Press
Prosecutors in Seattle said on Wednesday they would not seek the death penalty against the man accused of shooting six people - one fatally - at a Jewish organization's offices, because of the suspect's long history of mental illness.
King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng said he based his decision on Naveed Haq's mental health records from the past decade, though he called the shooting "one of the most serious crimes that has ever occurred in this city."
Haq is charged with murder in the death of Pamela Waechter, 58, director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle's annual fund-raising campaign, and with five counts of attempted murder in the attack at the federation's downtown offices on July 28.
If convicted, Haq would face life in prison without parole. He also faces charges of kidnapping and malicious harassment, the state's hate-crime law.
Jewish Federation officials declined immediate comment on the decision but scheduled a news conference on Wednesday.
Haq, 31, a U.S.-born Muslim, is accused of opening fire with two semi-automatic pistols at the Jewish center. He told authorities he was angered by the war in Iraq and U.S. military cooperation with Israel.
According to a statement of probable cause, Haq told an emergency 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."
A family friend told reporters last summer that Haq had been getting psychiatric help for 10 years, and had not been able to hold a job.
In March, Haq was arrested at a Benton County shopping mall after he was accused of climbing onto a raised coin fountain and exposing himself to young women. The judge postponed the hearing on the plea, and Haq eventually pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors said Haq waited in the vestibule of the downtown Seattle building until 14-year-old Kelsie Burkum arrived to visit her aunt, Cheryl Stumbo. Prosecutors allege he put a gun into the girl's back and told her, "Open the door." He followed her up the stairs to the second floor, keeping the gun in her back, and started shooting when one woman tried to make an emergency phone call, prosecutors said.
The shooting ended when Dayna Klein, then 17-weeks pregnant, persuaded the gunman to speak with an emergency operator after he shot her in the arm.