Attorney: Man Charged in Jewish Federation Shootings in Seattle Wants to Plead Guilty
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SEATTLE (AP) – A Muslim man accused of killing a woman and wounding five other people in a shooting rampage at Seattle’s Jewish Federation offices wants to plead guilty, his attorney told a judge Thursday.
The judge put off the arraignment of Naveed Afzal Haq until Tuesday so Haq’s lawyer could determine whether his client is competent to enter the plea.
Haq, 30, “is indicating that it is his desire to enter guilty pleas,” defense attorney C. Wesley Richards said.
Haq, an American-born son of Pakistani immigrants, is accused of forcing his way into the charity’s offices and opening fire July 28 out of anger over the war in Iraq and U.S. support of Israel. Pamela Waechter, director of the Jewish charity’s annual fundraising campaign, was killed.
Haq is jailed without bail on charges including murder and attempted murder. Prosecutors have not decided whether to seek the death penalty.
Volunteers from the Jewish Federation quietly watched the proceedings in the heavily guarded courtroom. The courthouse has metal detectors at its entrance, but spectators at Haq’s hearing had to pass through another metal detector outside the courtroom.
