Naveed Afzal Haq

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Naveed Afzal Haq (born September 23, 1975) is an American man of Pakistani descent who committed the July 2006 Seattle Jewish Federation shooting.

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[edit] Background

The son of a prominent Muslim-American leader in the Tri-Cities area. Haq's father, Mian Haq, works at the Hanford nuclear facility and helped found the local Islamic Center. [1] Naveed Haq graduated from Richland High School in 1994, where one of his classmates described him as a "pretty calm, collected, happy guy." Another classmate told The Seattle Times that Haq "was never up front about his faith or religion." [2] Haq is reported to have attended dentistry school at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for four years before dropping out. He then completed a degree in electrical engineering at Washington State University (WSU), but was allegedly incapable of holding down a job. [3]

By all accounts, Haq had few close friends. A Seattle Times article quoted "the only friend Haq listed on the social-networking site, Friendster.com", a man from a Hindu background, as saying, "I'm beginning to think I was his only friend in the Tri-Cities. I don't recall him hanging out with anybody else." [4] Seattle alternative weekly The Stranger described Wick Renner, Haq's former WSU classmate and "best friend", more recently his housemate in Everett, Washington, as having been "frustrated with [Haq's] aimlessness." Prior to the shooting spree, according to Renner, Haq had spent "an idle summer in a studio apartment flirting with women on the internet."[5]

Haq was married briefly, in an arranged marriage in 2001 in Pakistan, but the marriage was apparently unconsummated, and he returned to America without his bride.[5]

[edit] Minor brushes with the law

Haq had a series of minor brushes with the law, especially traffic violations, but no serious criminal record. In March 2006, he was arrested for public exposure at the Columbia Center Mall in Kennewick, Washington, after allegedly standing on a fountain near a Macy's store, and harassing women at the nearby store's makeup counter. At one point, he exposed his penis to young women passing by the fountain. One of Haq's friends told The Seattle Times that the suspect was taking medication for bipolar disorder and that he was unhappy with his life and sometimes made anti-Semitic remarks offhandedly. [2] According to another Times article, for years Haq's parents "had witnessed Haq's struggle with mental illness." [4]

[edit] Religion

Although Haq grew up as a Muslim, he underwent Christian baptism in December 2005, and attended a Bible study group for several months. The Bible study group leader, Albert Montelongo, said that Haq had been suffering from bipolar disorder which had attributed to the conflict with his family over his religious conversion. Montelongo added that he thought that Haq was succeeding in dealing with "his own anger" the last time he saw him, and that Haq had told them that he was moving to Seattle in search of employment.[6]. He had recently won essay contest for a United States Institute of Peace scholarship.

[edit] Jewish Federation building shooting

On July 28, 2006, Haq gained access to the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle building by holding a 13-year-old girl hostage with a gun to her back and ordering her to dial the intercom and request to be buzzed into the building.[7] After entering, he allegedly began shooting. Pamela Waechter was killed.[8] Layla Bush was critically wounded. Dayna Klein, Cheryl Stumbo, Carol Goldman, and Christina Rexroad were wounded.[1] One bullet narrowly missed Klein's unborn child.[2]

At the time of the shooting, it was reported by witnesses that Haq announced, "I am a Muslim American, angry at Israel."[9]During the incident, Haq also talked to 911 operators, saying, "These are Jews and I'm tired of getting pushed around and our people getting pushed around by the situation in the Middle East."[7]

Haq is currently being held on $50 million bail pending full charges. Haq was charged with nine felonies, including aggravated first-degree murder, five counts of attempted murder, kidnapping, burglary and malicious harassment, a hate-crime law. Haq is accused of breaking into federation offices and then engaging in a shooting spree, at which time he allegedly made anti-Semitic statements. [10] Haq's court-appointed attorney has confirmed that his client suffered from bipolar disorder, but it is unclear whether he will attempt an insanity defense. King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that many mentally-ill individuals "can fully be held accountable in the criminal justice system."[11] On August 10, 2006, Haq requested to enter a plea of guilty to all charges against him, surprising his lawyer as well as the community at large. The judge in the case has delayed entering a plea until a competency hearing can be completed.

Two days after the shootings, Haq's parents released a statement "expressing their shock and sorrow over the shootings. 'We could not have imagined for a moment that our son would do this senseless act. This is utterly contrary to our beliefs and Islamic values.'" [4]

On December 20, 2006, it was announced that Haq would not face the death penalty if convicted but rather would spend life in prison without parole.[3]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Murakami, Kerry. "Suspect's bail set at $50 million", Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 2006-07-29. Retrieved on 2006-07-29.
  2. ^ a b "Incidents clash with image suspect conveyed in school", Seattle Times, 2006-07-29. Retrieved on 2006-07-29.
  3. ^ Guiterrez, Scott. "Suspect in Jewish Federation shootings recently baptized", Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 2006-07-31. Retrieved on 2006-07-31.
  4. ^ a b c Sara Jean Green, Gunman's mother had tried to talk him out of Seattle trip, Seattle Times, July 31, 2006. Accessed August 14, 2006.
  5. ^ a b Josh Feit and Brendan Kiley, Waiting Period: Jewish Federation Shooting Suspect Naveed Haq's Lost Summer, The Stranger, Aug 3-Aug 9, 2006. Accessed 28 August 2006.
  6. ^ Shooting suspect was baptized. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved on 2006-08-01.
  7. ^ a b Woodward, Curt. "Seattle Suspect Allegedly Ambushed Girl", Washington Post, 2006-07-29. Retrieved on 2006-08-18..
  8. ^ Pamela Waechter - Find A Grave
  9. ^ 'I am a Muslim American, angry at Israel' - Seattle Post-Intelligencer. July 29, 2006
  10. ^ Singer, Natalie. (Aug. 9, 2006). "Judge: Haq defense can send own crime-scene investigator." The Seattle Times. pA8.
  11. ^ Johnson, Tracy. "Murder charge in shootings at Jewish Federation", Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 2006-08-03. Retrieved on 2006-08-03.

[edit] External links

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