SubscribeSeattle Shooter Was A Muslim “Angry At Israel”
From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
Naveed Afzal Haq’s 1994 yearbook entry.
‘I am a Muslim American, angry at Israel’
Six shot, one killed at Seattle Jewish Federation
Saturday, July 29, 2006
By CAROL SMITH, PHUONG CAT LE AND AMY ROLPH
On the eve of the Jewish Sabbath, a 31-year-old man claiming he was upset about "what was going on in Israel" opened fire at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle building, killing one person and wounding five women, one of them pregnant.
Three of the women were in critical condition Friday night with gunshot wounds to the stomach.
The gunman, brandishing a large-caliber semi-automatic pistol, forced his way through the security door at the federation, on Third Avenue downtown, after an employee had punched in her security code.
"He said, ‘I am a Muslim American, angry at Israel,’ before opening fire on everyone," said Marla Meislin-Dietrich, a database coordinator for the center. "He was randomly shooting at everyone."
The man was booked into King County Jail at 10:38 p.m. as Naveed Afzal Haq on one count of investigation of homicide and five counts of investigation of attempted homicide, according to King County Jail records.
The man apparently was from the Tri-Cities area, and authorities there confirmed Friday night that they had visited two residences in the area and were preparing to go into a third with the assistance of the FBI. A bomb squad was standing by in Kennewick. Local media reported he had a misdemeanor lewd conduct charge pending in Benton County. He allegedly exposed himself in a public place.
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.
"I feel sick to my stomach," said Becki Chandler, 35, who has been a volunteer for the Jewish Federation for seven years. She came to Harborview Medical Center as soon as she heard about the shootings. "It feels like a personal attack."
Police apprehended the lone gunman without incident at 4:15 p.m. after officers talked him out of the building.
The man was arrested at the corner of Third Avenue and Lenora Street, near the federation building.
"We believe … it’s a lone individual acting out his antagonism," said David Gomez, an FBI assistant special agent in charge of counterterrorism in Seattle.
In Seattle, FBI agent Fred Gutt said the agency sent out two generalized warnings to Washington law enforcement, on July 21 and on Wednesday, listing general scenarios to be alert for. Places of religious significance were mentioned, including mosques, synagogues and churches, but the warning was not specific, he said.
Gutt said the FBI is helping Seattle police assess whether the gunman was a "lone wolf" or part of a wider plan. If evidence of a terrorist plot evolved, the FBI would become the lead agency, but as of Friday night the case remained Seattle’s, Gutt said.
Authorities did not release any details about the suspect and would not discuss possible motives.
In a news conference, police Chief Kerlikowske said the man was a U.S. citizen, but not from Seattle. His relatives were being contacted and interviewed.
"There’s nothing to indicate that it’s terrorism-related," Gomez said. "But we’re monitoring the entire situation."
"This is a sad day in the city of Seattle," Mayor Greg Nickels said. "This is a crime of hate, and there’s no place for that in Seattle."
The mayor and Kerlikowske said the city will be providing outreach assistance to the local Jewish community, and added patrols will be on duty to protect synagogues and other Jewish facilities.
Seattle mosques will also be protected by police as a safeguard against possible retaliation from outraged citizens.
Harborview spokeswoman Pamela Steele said five victims were taken to the hospital. "I’ve never seen such a swarm of people," Steele said of the scene as the victims and medics arrived at the trauma center.
The women ranged in age from the 20s to the 40s. Each suffered gunshot wounds to the abdomen, knee, groin or arm. Three were in surgery and in critical condition Friday night. Two were in satisfactory condition.
A hospital spokesman identified the pregnant woman as Dayna Klein. She was in satisfactory condition with a gunshot wound in her left forearm and was scheduled for surgery. Carol Goldman was in satisfactory condition with injuries to her knees.
Cheryl Stumbo, director of marketing and communications for the federation, also was identified as one of the victims and was in critical condition Friday night.
Kathryn Bush said Friday night that her daughter, Layla Bush, had been injured in the shooting.
"She’s out of surgery, but that’s all we know," she said in a call Friday night from her Florida home. "We’re taking it moment by moment. I’m really in shock right now, but I’m trusting in the Lord to bring me through."
She said her daughter, 23, was "really bright" and always wanted to work for non-profits and foundations. She joined the federation as the office manager and receptionist about six months ago.
Police got the first 911 call of shots fired at the Jewish Federation at 4:03 p.m. Friday just as people were preparing to leave work for the weekend. About 10 people were left in the building. Witnesses said the shooter indicated he was acting because of Israel’s actions in Lebanon.
The initial call authorities received reported the shots and a possible hostage situation, assistant Seattle police Chief Nick Metz said at an early evening news conference.
Witnesses to the shooting and people who work at the federation described a chaotic, terrifying scene.
Kami Knatt works at the federation’s Holocaust center. As she exited the building, she saw a wounded co-worker 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 all right."
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.
Rachel Hynes works in the building. "I was in the back of the building when I heard gunshots. It sounded like balloons, but they were really loud," she said. "I picked up my purse and I walked out of the building."
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.
Jesse Black, general manager of Nyberg Locksmiths on Third Avenue diagonally across from the building, heard the shots and went to the sidewalk.
The cops yelled at him, "Get off the street because there’s a sniper on the roof." He looked up and saw a figure in a white shirt on the rooftop.
Immediately after the shooting, a SWAT team searched the federation building for any other victims, anyone hiding or any other possible shooters, said police spokesman Rich Pruitt.
Police blocked off several city blocks to investigate. The suspect’s vehicle was recovered near the shooting scene, Metz said. Police spent some time checking it for bombs before having it towed.
The federation issued a statement:
"Our federation colleagues so unmercifully and viciously attacked were spending their day as they normally do, providing for social and humanitarian services that benefited all of metropolitan Seattle. The hatred and violence visited upon them today offends the values that drove their work and passion for improving their neighbors’ lives."
Early in July, Jewish non-profit organizations received more than half the federal homeland security grants to "harden" such "at-risk" non-profit groups against terrorist threats. Jewish groups received about $14 million of $25 million earmarked by Congress in 2005.
The federation building is known for its security, with gates and buzzers. Jacobs said the federation has an electronic security system that allows it to control access to the office. The shooter could not have simply entered the building unseen, said Anti-Defamation League leader Robert Jacobs.
The Muslim community in the region watched in horror as news broke of the shooting.
"We categorically condemn this and any similar acts of violence," the Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a joint statement with the Ithna-Ashari Muslim Association of the Northwest, the Muslim Association of Puget Sound, the Islamic Educational Center of Seattle, American Muslims of Puget Sound and the Arab American Community Coalition.
"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 refuse to see the violence in the Middle East spill over to our cities and neighborhoods. We reject and categorically condemn any attacks against the Jewish community and stand in solidarity with the Jewish Federation in this tragedy."
The Seattle City Council issued a statement Friday offering its condolences to the victims and their families.
"There is too much hate and violence in the world and we do not wish to bring it to Seattle," said council President Nick Licata in the statement.
Just hours before the shooting, Jacobs ate lunch with shooting victim Dayna Klein.
"She’s just a wonderful, ebullient, energetic person," said Jacobs, ADL’s Pacific Northwest regional director. "She heads up major gifts and development for the federation."
He called shooting victim Cheryl Stumbo, a non-Jewish Unitarian, "a warm, good human being. She really brought a tremendous understanding of marketing to the federation."
Iantha Sidell, past board chairman of the federation, went to Harborview after the shootings to lend her support.
"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."
It always seems that the local papers are more willing to be slightly less politically correct than the major wire services like the Associate Press.
(Though they did neglect to mention the fact that this Jewish center had helped organize a large rally last weekend to demonstrate support for Israel in its fight against Hezbollah.)
But the Post-Intelligencer did dare to include this unbelievable bit of information in their photo gallery for the shooting:
Frank, who did not want his last name used, debates on Friday with Ali, who also did not want his last name used, about the conflict in the Mideast. Frank was upset that demonstrators were gathering in front of the Westlake Center in downtown Seattle while a man had shot six people, killing one, at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle building.
That’s right. There were anti-Israeli demonstrators gathering in front of a nearby center moments while the shootings were still going on.
What a world.
By the way, ever notice how many of these terrorist acts occur on a Friday — the closest thing to a Muslim Sabbath?
It could be that the perpetrators are whipped up by the fervent words of their Imams. Or it could be that they get extra credit (maybe extra virgins) for killing infidels on their holy day:
Friday is an important day in the life of a Muslim and it is believed that any devotional acts done on this day gain a higher reward.
For instance:
SUV Plows Through UNC Gathering Spot, Six Slightly Hurt
March 3, 2006
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — A sport utility vehicle raced through a popular gathering spot on the University of North Carolina campus on Friday, clipping and scattering startled bystanders before it sped away, authorities said.
Six people — five students and a visiting scholar — were treated at UNC Hospitals, though a hospital spokesman said none was seriously injured. Three other people declined treatment at the scene, police said.
Mohammed Reza Taheriazar, 23, a UNC student as recently as fall 2005, was being held Friday by campus police, who planned to charge him with multiple counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, the university said in a statement….
Funny how this bonus points day is never mentioned.
Related Articles:
- CAIR Teaches Canadian Muslims "Their Rights"
- Terrorists Kidnap Iraq's Olympic Head, Others
- 13% Of Brit Muslims Call 7/7 Bombers "Martyrs"
- Terrorists Planned To Bomb The Holland Tunnel
- California Teen Revealed To Be Al Qaeda Leader
- Canadian Terror Suspects' Wives Drop The Veil
- Sears Terrorists' Weird Quasi Islamic Roots
- Media Portrays Sears Plotters As Harmless Kids
- CAIR Says Don't Call Miami Terrorists "Muslims"
- Sears Tower Plotters Gave "Their Lives To Allah"
- Mounties Get Sensitivity Training Before Raids
- Mounties Can't Find Any "Common Denominator"
- UNC SUV Driver Wanted Revenge For Muslims
- SUV Runs Down Six - Despite Moslem Driver
- Canadian Students Attack Professor Over Cartoon
46 Responses to “Seattle Shooter Was A Muslim “Angry At Israel””
Leave a Reply
You must be registered and logged in to post a comment.
July 29th, 2006 at 4:06 am
“On the eve of the Jewish Sabbath…”
In other words, Friday evening. After prayers on the Muslim Sabbath.
Which seems to be when so many terrorist attacks occur.
July 29th, 2006 at 4:16 am
An update from the Seattle Times:
July 29th, 2006 at 4:33 am
I am not a native English speaker and wonder what the difference is between a hate crime and a terrorist crime?
“There’s nothing to indicate that it’s terrorism-related,” Gomez said…
What a moron this Gomez seems. A real Gomez.
I mean, it is about as hard to understand hate crime and terror crime as the “Weapon of mass destruction” line that comes up everywhere. “Bush lied about WMD’s!”
In a logical, moral and physical sense, Ude and Kuse (remember the evil twins of Saddamistic Hussein?) were weapons of mass destruction as much as was their twisted daddy.
In the well-trained hand, a katana (which I prefer) can be a weapon of mass destruction. Still it is not.
It seems that to be a MSMedia WMD, the weapon must also release a gas, a radiant, or a loud noxious noise.
In that respect, I consider the American MSM to be WMD’s but that is beside the point. But they fits the bill; MSM kills many people, it is noisy…
Help me out- what is it? Hate or terror? Is no one actually terrified of the hate crime, and do terrorists actually not hate those they assault?
July 29th, 2006 at 7:48 am
There’s no such thing as a “hate” crime. A crime is a crime. The “hate” part is just some PC garbage invented so that self-absorbed libs (are there any other kind?) could inflate their egos by showing their solidarity with homosexuals. It’s stupid, narcissistic and ultimately meaningless.
July 29th, 2006 at 8:41 am
>I consider the American MSM to be WMD’s
July 29th, 2006 at 8:44 am
Hate crime? Terrorism? Yes and yes. The religion of hatred strikes again.
Waiting for the libs and their media to inform us how this Muzzie is the “victim” and what our appropriate reaction to this should be.
Time for interment, I’d say.
July 29th, 2006 at 9:37 am
The “history of mental inllness” line sounds like the reporter is pleading insanity for him before he even goes to trial. What’s insane about lewd behavior? Shouldn’t Tommy Lee and Dave Chappelle be in jail then?
This was a terrorist action taken against our country and our way of life, not just a jewish organization. If we keep refusing to acknowledge the enemy, how in the world can we have any hope of winning? Funny how the west (mostly western media) can’t ever find a link between muslims and terrorism, but the muslim jihadists tell us how they are related every time they get a chance, and we STILL won’t believe them! The US and Israel are the same entity to the jihadists, but we have to draw stark distinctions between hezbollah, al Queda, “Palestinian” suicide bombers, Iraqi “freedom fighters”, etc ad nauseum. They all want us dead. Isn’t that enough of a common thread?
July 29th, 2006 at 10:44 am
The MSM will do everything to divert attention from the fact that this man is Muslim. Attacking and killing Jews. IN AMERICA! Keep watching… the muslims will get a free pass every time they do this, and anyone, and I mean anyone doing harm to a Muslim will be crucified immediately. Such is the way with the PC crowd, making victims out of murderers, and doing everything possible to keep the muslims from getting upset.
The facts are easy. Muslim man kills Jewish man because he is Jewish. No other reason. So, where is the convenient “hate crime” mantra now? It never fails…the one sided media will not let anyone other than Christians or Jews to be guilty of a “hate crime”. This is only the beginning. It is going to get a lot worse.
July 29th, 2006 at 10:53 am
The msm is alteady saying he was not normal, retarded, mentaly deranged, whatever. Well I consider ALL MUSLIMS to be not normal, retarded, mentaly deranged, whatever, so what is the difference between this POS and the rest of them?
July 29th, 2006 at 12:07 pm
Gomez, Gomez… let’s hope the FBI isn’t going to filter out any evidence which would indicate this guy was only atoning for his sin of showing his penis to the infidels.
Any time I hear a federal agent say, “We think….” I get all nervous that we’re back to the days of walking the dog backwards, setting up scenarios and only accepting evidence which supports our original theory. Don’t be thinkin’ until you track this thugs Friday activities, Mr. Gomez. You AND that little monkey in your pocket.
What’s the relationship, if any, between his March arrest for lewd conduct, his activities during the three months he was awaiting a trial and this shooting? Establish that there isn’t one with a thorough investigation before you start all this thinkin’ mess.
You know, the FBI “thinks” Joel Henry Hinrichs acted alone and that this sophisticated bomb complete with shrapnel and remote detonation device was only meant for him. That’s what you get when you let the FBI “think.”
July 29th, 2006 at 12:24 pm
“If we keep refusing to acknowledge the enemy, how in the world can we have any hope of winning? ”
AIPA…..you have really nailed it with that statement. Even after being attacked on 9/11 by mooselimbs, not Japanese, Chinese, Irish, English, Polish, German or any other flavor of terrorist, mooselimb terrorists, whose leader says he and the rest of islam want to kill all of us, we (being a large number of American idiots) refuse as a country to believe them. We would rather believe that we can all just get along if we make nice with killers. Far too many Americans are too wraped up in their narcissitic lives to even acknowledge that we are in a war for our very survival. Far too many Americans would rather stick their head into some sort of delusional reality, that don’t worry-be happy way of thinking that in reality, they are signing a suicide pact for themselves and their children. We are so stuck in the quagmire of “ethnic divirsity”, believing this to be the road to peace and happiness, that we can’t even see, much less recognize the enemy within. We are so happy to allow 20 or more million illegal immigrants from south of the border, that we can’t see the harm in people who have been here for 20 or more years, producing way too many children that become a financial burder on our society, that can’t even speak english after 2 decades in the county that we can’t see down the road to self-destruction by our good intentions.
I truely fear for the future of the country that I served for 27 years.
July 29th, 2006 at 12:26 pm
Excuse my posting of late - my computer hates me - not that I am as stupid as my posts indicate. (I know that other comments other places have been cut).
The post earlier was suppose to read >I consider the American MSM to be WMD’s
July 29th, 2006 at 12:52 pm
I’ve been reading the comments for several weeks now and enjoying the dialog on a wide variety of topics. It is apparent to me that this is, in the main, a “thinking” group so I am certain that someone can enlighten me regarding the reason the Seattle Times reporter thought it necessary/prudent to write the following in the report:
” ‘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.”
Other than a sort of not-too-subliminal message, what does the third sentence have to do with the report? Perhaps the reporter just didn’t want us to miss the event altogether.
July 29th, 2006 at 12:59 pm
USCGA72……I think I have the answer for you. Like the RCMP in Canada, the reporter can’t find a common denominator with other acts of violence by the religion of
peacedeath and destruction.July 29th, 2006 at 1:09 pm
USCGA,
This is called “cover all the bases” reporting. In case the mental illness thing doesn’t stick, this reporter wants you to know that this incident of political terrorism wasn’t unprovoked. After all, the Federation sponsored a Solidarity with Israel rally.
Warning: Do not try this stunt at home. Journalists are professionally trained to talk out of both sides of their mouths. Amatures may experience unrecoverable cognitive dissonance. Talk to your doctor about whether the soft-pedaling thuggery is right for you.”
July 29th, 2006 at 1:18 pm
Actually they usually talk out of the other end of their body. But you are right, they started out with he was a little strange but now he was just an all american boy who was forced by the Jews to shoot them.
July 29th, 2006 at 1:26 pm
This isn’t a hate crime or a murder, even though he did murder. It’s terrorism pure and simple. But the MSM won’t call it that because it might give “moderate” mooselimbs a bad name. Oh wait, this was a “moderate” mooselimb according to the MSM. He was just a normal American, who happend to be a mooselimb who happend to walk into a gathering of Americans who happend to be Jews and start shooting them. When are Americans going to wake up and “get it”. Moderated mooselimbs that don’t stand up and denounce these acts will someday be the “moderates” that commit them. It has happend in the past and will happen over and over again. The moderates don’t denounce them because their religion, which they believe is the most controlling part of their lives, condones them.
The only surprise here is that CAIR hasn’t been on their podium demanding protection from backlash because of this. I’m sure they will find a way to make this shooting the fault of Jewish Americans….or all caucasion Americans. It always is…..isn’t it? And I’m equally as sure that CAIR will have a hand in the lawyering that will happen to defend this latest terrorist.
July 29th, 2006 at 1:32 pm
If the Moderated mooselimbs do not get control of the terrorist in their midst, they will be the ones lying in a pool of blood.
BTW, I would like to extend my HillBilly RedNeck Welcome to all the new folks here.
We are a
diverse, different, not the same,ah hell yall will fit in just fine.July 29th, 2006 at 1:38 pm
Sometimes it’s painful to admit that I live in Wasington State because of the deep blueness of it. I’m sure the Seattle left will be lining up to defend the honor and good intentions of this terrorist…..I mean he is no worse that Tookie Cookie is he? And they sure as hell defended him to the end.
July 29th, 2006 at 1:48 pm
1st…..glad to see you struck “diverse” I despise that word as it is just code for accepting hate and ignorance into the fabric of our society instead of assimilation.
July 29th, 2006 at 1:52 pm
I agree, We are all different but we are all the same too.
July 29th, 2006 at 2:10 pm
“I’m sure the Seattle left will be lining up to defend the honor and good intentions of this terrorist….”
Well, as I noted in the article, there were demonstrators out in support of the shooter’s “cause” even while they were still mopping up the blood.
July 29th, 2006 at 2:13 pm
“This isn’t a hate crime or a murder, even though he did murder. It’s terrorism pure and simple. But the MSM won’t call it that because it might give “moderate” mooselimbs a bad name.”
Come on. Just because he wanted to take hostages and he shot some people and killed one to prove his political point — you want to call that terrorism?
It really is laughable the contortions our one party media goes through to avoid calling a spade a spade.
Of course they never met an America-hater they didn’t like.
July 29th, 2006 at 2:23 pm
Has anyone, anywhere heard of any mooselimb condeming this terrorist’s action? Wait I hear something. The sound of silence. As always….deafening.
July 29th, 2006 at 3:56 pm
WI - the journalist Carol Smith even made a point of including this:
“‘We categorically condemn this and any similar acts of violence,’ the Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a joint statement with the Ithna-Ashari Muslim Association of the Northwest, the Muslim Association of Puget Sound, the Islamic Educational Center of Seattle, American Muslims of Puget Sound and the Arab American Community Coalition.”
So yes, Muslims have condemned the attack. But you know what they say about actions speaking louder than words. If, in the next few days and weeks, these same groups start to rally around this guy - or worse, call in the ACLU - then we’ll know how sincere their condemnation is. Like a Clinton apology: “I’m sorry this makes me look bad”. Judging just by the points in the article, Haq’s defense (after his insanity plea falls through) will come down to this: “I was provoked by a hostile climate created by the Jewish community in Seattle and the international crisis in Lebanon”. As ridiculous as it sounds, I suspect that’s a solid defense in a blue state.
July 29th, 2006 at 4:04 pm
Hey….I was just asking and thanks for the info. I suspect you’re right though. The condemnation is a PR move. I don’t believe, however, that the “moderate” mooselimbs in general have said anything to make me think they are serious in condemnation. Why hasn’t the mooselimb community, just the average mooselimb on the street, reached out to the Jewish community in Seattle, as POTUS wrongly did with the islamic community after 9/11, expressing their condolences and offering their support? I think we all know the answer to that.
July 29th, 2006 at 6:46 pm
I linked to your article from Why the Muslim shot the Jews in Seattle
July 29th, 2006 at 9:22 pm
“The only surprise here is that CAIR hasn’t been on their podium demanding protection from backlash because of this. I’m sure they will find a way to make this shooting the fault of Jewish Americans….or all caucasion Americans. It always is…..isn’t it? And I’m equally as sure that CAIR will have a hand in the lawyering that will happen to defend this latest terrorist.”
Blowing my own horn with a quote of my quote above. I just read CAIR’s statement. I was pretty damn close. The only thing they haven’t done is get him lawyered up at their expense. I’m positive that will come shortly.
July 29th, 2006 at 10:56 pm
Okay, in case you were wondering, here’s the REAL poop, direct from page A6 of the Washington [com]Post today (don’t worry; I don’t actually BUY the rag … I read it at my local bar and then bring it home to place under my bald eagle’s favorite perch).
QUOTE
Gunman Kills 1, Wounds 5 at Seattle Jewish Center
From News Services
SEATTLE, July 28
One woman was killed and five others were hospitalized Friday after a man who allegedly declared he was “angry with Israel” opened fire at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle building.
The alleged gunman was arrested without a struggle inside the building, police said.
Authorities noted that all the victims were women, but they did not offer a motive for the incident and it was not immediately clear if the shooter was targeting women.
“We think this is a lone individual acting out with antagonism toward the organization,” David Gomez, assistant special agent in charge of counterterrorism for the FBI’s office in Seattle, told Reuters.
The federation was a sponsor of a Solidarity with Israel rally last Sunday.
UNQUOTE
So the guy is apparently NOT a muslim nut-case after all. He was just pissed-off at Israel and, according to Gomez, “the organization” as well. Whew … what a relief! I had initially thought he was lone renegade muslim terrorist. Silly me. The Washington [com]Post (and, unfortunately, the FBI’s Gomez) to the rescue once again.
July 30th, 2006 at 12:18 am
“So the guy is apparently NOT a muslim nut-case after all. He was just pissed-off at Israel and, according to Gomez, “the organization” as well. Whew … what a relief! I had initially thought he was lone renegade muslim terrorist. Silly me.”
Clearly you never had the benefit of a good journalism school education. You’re letting the obvious facts cloud your agenda.
Despite that horrible shortcoming, welcome!
July 30th, 2006 at 1:47 am
Good post, USCGA72. It seems the MSM is discreetly leaving some rather significant points out. Not that I ever doubted the media bias in the Washington Post, but it’s always good to catch them in the act.
July 30th, 2006 at 3:03 am
“nothing to indicate he is part of a larger organization.”…
Yes he is. It’s called “Islam.”
“He described the younger Haq as a loner who attended holidays at the center but was barely involved in recent years…”
Of course. He will soon be denounced (almost exclusively by obsequious white liberals) for not practicing “true islam,” and we will have to go through the whole “religion of peace” production again.
“Seattle mosques will also be protected by police as a safeguard against possible retaliation from outraged citizens.”
The logical response to an act of islamic terrorism is, of course, to protect the perpetrators and/or their sympathizers from the victims and/or theirs. Someone remind me: what is the tally of [non-hoax] hate crimes against muslims in the United States since 9/11? Anyone? Ah yes–zero! So what are they protecting these mosques from? Rampaging unicorns? Why don’t we just dispense with the formalities and arrest the Jews already?
July 30th, 2006 at 9:59 am
Very astute SG! USCGA is definitely NOT a journalism school … at least it wasn’t in ‘72.
That, no doubt, explains why I apparently confused the two stories. To wit:
Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
“He said, ‘I am a Muslim American, angry at Israel,’ before opening fire on everyone,” said Marla Meislin-Dietrich, a database coordinator for the center. “He was randomly shooting at everyone.”
Washington Compost:
“allegedly declared he was ‘angry with Israel’.”
Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
“About 10 people were left in the building. Witnesses said the shooter indicated he was acting because of Israel’s actions in Lebanon.”
Washington Compost:
“Authorities noted that all the victims were women, but they did not offer a motive for the incident and it was not immediately clear if the shooter was targeting women.”
Must have been two different incidents, eh?
July 30th, 2006 at 10:46 am
“http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003162635_haq30.html”
The terrorist is a victim. It says so in the Seattle Times.
July 30th, 2006 at 11:02 am
Muslims cannot be portrayed as anything but victims War…..the MSM has painted themselves into a corner with this one….and the only way they will change is after they rebuild their offices after the next bombing by the religion of peace, and most likely not then either. Only when the enemy is at the gates will people finally wake up and realize they were responsible for allowing Islam to attempt a world takeover. By then, even though it will appear that it is too late….there are those of us who will do what is necessary to protect them. Like we always have.
July 30th, 2006 at 6:44 pm
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/.....t30ww.html
Shooting suspect was baptized
Just part of the enigma he proved himself to friends
Saturday, July 29, 2006
By SCOTT GUTIERREZ
P-I REPORTER
RICHLAND — Those who knew Naveed Haq said Saturday that to them he was an enigma, a puzzle that they wish they could have solved before his deadly rampage in a Seattle Jewish center.
Stunned and saddened by the news, some of Haq’s acquaintances recounted many of what they saw as the contradictions of his life.
He held a degree in electrical engineering and was the son of a successful engineer, yet he couldn’t keep a regular job. He was smart, creative and skilled as a writer. He recently won an essay contest for a U.S. Institute of Peace scholarship.
Yet Haq was frustrated at his lack of friends and female companionship.He told friends he felt alienated from his own family, in part because his career had disappointed his father and also because he had disavowed Islam last year, converting to Christianity.
Haq had begun studying the Bible, attending weekly men’s spiritual group meetings, only to stop coming a few months after his baptism.
He had told the group’s leader that he seen too much anger in Islam and that he wanted to find a new beginning in Christianity.
Yet in the midst of his shooting spree in Seattle Friday, he declared himself an angry Muslim.
Acquaintances said he never seemed the fanatic religious extremist he played out on Friday. Instead some think his anger was really directed at problems in his personal and professional life.
“Naveed had the profile of the guy who just couldn’t get things together,” said Erik Neilsen, a Richland resident who let Haq live with him for three months in 2004. He said he thinks several problems compounded for Haq, and he just exploded.
“I wish I could have done something about it. I look back in retrospect and say ‘Is there anything I could have done.’”
Last winter, Haq began attending a weekly men’s group meeting led by a member of the Word of Faith Church in Kennewick.
The group’s leader, Albert Montelongo, said Haq started studying the Bible and in December he underwent a water baptism at the non-denominational church, performed by Montelongo. He said Haq accepted his new faith, though he knew that he would also be offending his own family and its deeply rooted culture. His father, Mian Haq, was among the founders of the Islamic Center of the Tri-Cities in Richland.
Montelongo said Haq seemed depressed by the tension that had grown between him and his family. And he said Haq talked about suffering from bipolar disorder. But that he seemed to improve in how he coped with what Montelongo described as his own anger.
A few months after he was baptized, though, Haq stopped coming to the men’s group meetings. Montelongo last heard from Haq in a message that said he was going to Seattle to find a job. He said he tried to call Haq several times but never reached him.
Then on Friday, Montelongo said he saw the news in Seattle and thought the man in police custody looked like Haq.
“I don’t understand that. That throws me off from everything he was doing here,” Montelongo said. “That blew me away.”
“We’ll be praying for him and everybody that was hurt in what happened, and everybody that’s involved in it,” Montelongo said.
At the Islamic Center of Tri-Cities, a senior member, Muhammad Kaleem Ullah, said that Haq stopped attending regularly after he graduated from Richland High School in 1994. He said Haq would attend off and on while visiting his parents and that he surprised members on a Friday two weeks ago with a visit.
“This is a totally sad day for us. This is the closest I’ve ever come to something like this,” said Ullah. “What could have been going on in his brain has been very hard to figure out.”
After high school, Haq enrolled in dentistry school at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., something his father encouraged. But after about four years of study, Haq decided to quit school and return home. That also created some tension between father and son, Ullah said.
Instead Haq went to Washington State University, where he earned a degree in electrical engineering.
Efforts to reach his family were unsuccessful.
In March, Haq was arrested for lewd conduct at a Tri-Cities mall. It was Ullah he called to bail him out of jail, because he was too embarrassed to call his own family, Ullah said.
The family was very distraught at Friday’s events, Ullah said, based on a conversation he had with Haq’s father after his son’s arrest.
Haq apparently moved back and forth between Tri-Cities and Seattle while he was looking for employment. At one point, he told Neilsen, the friend with whom he lived for a few months in 2004, that he was working as a security guard at a Seattle area department story. Neilsen said he’d lost touch with Haq until about six weeks ago when he got an e-mail from Haq, saying his friend had started work at a Home Depot store in Everett.
He said it seemed odd that someone with a degree in engineering had taken an unskilled job. It seemed to him that Haq had trouble keeping steady employment and that he often lacked focus in his career.
Neilsen said he thinks Haq’s issues with family, his religion and even his social life just compounded. He said he believed his friend wanted desperately to fit into mainstream U.S. society. But he felt like an outcast in his own family.
Neilsen, a fellow engineer, said he was deeply saddened at Friday’s news.
“I’ve had conversations with him; he’d come over and we’d have a cigar in my back yard and have a nice talk. And all of a sudden, it’s like ‘What happened? What happened to you?’.”
Scott Gutierrez can be reached at 206-448-8334 or scottgutierrez@seattlepi.com.
© 1998-2006 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
July 30th, 2006 at 6:50 pm
awwww SR…….now I feel so bad for this poor victim. I say bull crap. The drums are now beating for making him a victim of American society, much the same as the Canadian media has blamed Canadian society for the plight of their terrorist plotters.
July 30th, 2006 at 7:50 pm
I hear ya, Warmonger. I just posted it to show some of the spin that’s coming out of various Seattle newspapers. There will be more forthcoming, I’m sure.
Prayers for the victims of this heinous crime and/or act of terrorism.
I noticed in the picture of him posted with the SI article that his head was shaved. No way of knowing if this was a recent act, but one can’t help but wonder if he did this (shaved his head) in preparation for meeting his 72 virgins in heaven. I wonder if he had a beard to shave, and shaved that, as well, as jihadists do before going into a suicide mission. I’m betting that he hoped the police would blow him away, making him a martyr.
July 30th, 2006 at 8:10 pm
I agree SR. My hometown paper in
bezerkely northBellingham, WA is wringing their hands over this terrorist. Of course they don’t call him that. He’s just a poor misguided mooselimb that couldn’t adapt to the pressures of living in the greatest country on earth. All the libs there (everyone but my wife and I) are blaming Bushco, American aggression, American support of the Zionist killers, American oil, etc. etc. etc. It’s sickning. I fully expect when we get back home in October my U. S. and POW flag will be off the flagpole and probably burned on my front porch. It won’t be the first time. If it wasn’t for my very old in-laws, we would be out of the bluest of the blue states in a hearbeat.BTW SR….did you ever run across Master Chief Brashier in your “Doc” days? He was a piece of work (in a good way).
July 30th, 2006 at 8:16 pm
WI–
No, I never ran into said Master Chief–was he a corpsman?
Bellingham’s a nice area. I’ve been there once or twice; ate at a great Indian resaurant. Can’t recall–doesn’t Bellingham have a easy access to both the San Juans and Vancouver and Victoria, B.C.?
Have you ever driven to Ana Cortes just to watch the sunset? I have–spectacular!!!!! The ferry ride from Ana Cortes to Vancouver, B.C. is very peaceful and also very pretty.
July 30th, 2006 at 8:32 pm
“No, I never ran into said Master Chief–was he a corpsman?”
Not a corpsman…a diver as in “Men of Honor”. He passed away yesterday. Read my post here:
http://www.sweetness-light.com.....ment-31703
And yes, all of the above about Bellingham. The area is beautiful, just the people and the politics that piss me off.
July 31st, 2006 at 12:53 am
An insane Muslim??? Isn’t that an oxymoron??
August 1st, 2006 at 12:31 am
You guys have got to read Liberal Larry at BlameBush today regarding this “incident.” It’s satire, of course, but, sadly, it sounds precisely like the spin being put on it via newspapers and media here in the Pacific NW.
http://blamebush.typepad.com/b.....l#comments
A rabbi and another Jewish Seattleite called in to Savage today to tell him about an email was disseminated to various Seattle Jewish groups of a recommended weekend “seminar” to help them “understand the teachings of the Koran, ” in light of this “incident.”
August 1st, 2006 at 1:21 am
He had quite the head of hair in the above picture and then the pictures of him being arrested he’s Mr. Clean…Do you think he shaved all his body hair too as the 9/11 hijackers did?
August 1st, 2006 at 10:20 am
“A rabbi and another Jewish Seattleite called in to Savage today to tell him about an email was disseminated to various Seattle Jewish groups of a recommended weekend “seminar” to help them “understand the teachings of the Koran, ” in light of this “incident.”
It figures something like this would be proposed. Sounds like someone took their cue from POTUS after 9/11. To the islamists: You come and terrorize and kill us, we come with tail between legs blaming ourselves, wanting to kiss and make nice.
Sounds like a plan to me. So good it almost makes one want to puke.
August 3rd, 2006 at 1:22 am
Just once I’d like the AP to find a family relative who wants to exact justice for what has been done to a relative. But I guess they don’t exist.