Murder charged in Seattle shooting

SEATTLE – Prosecutors on Wednesday charged Naveed Haq with aggravated first-degree murder and five counts of first-degree attempted murder in last week’s shooting at the Jewish Federation offices in Seattle.

Haq is accused of killing Pamela Waechter, 58, and injuring five other women after forcing his way into the federation’s office just after 4 p.m. Friday and randomly shooting employees.

Aggravated first-degree murder is punishable by either the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of release.

Haq, 30, has also been charged with first-degree kidnapping for holding a gun to the back of a 14-year-old girl to force his way into the building; one charge of first-degree burglary and malicious harassment, the felony charge for a hate crime.

Haq, who is in custody in the King County Jail without bail, is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 10. After Haq’s arraignment, King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng will have 30 days to decide whether to seek the death penalty. Maleng said there appears to be premeditation.

“The world has gotten to be a smaller place,” Maleng said at a news conference this morning. “There’s no place in our community for hate crimes.”

At a news conference following the announcement of charges, a spokeswoman for the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle said the organization supported the charges filed against Haq. When asked if members of the organization supported seeking the death penalty, Robin Boehler, chairwoman of the Jewish Federation’s board, said, “We don’t have a position on the death penalty. Our community is very diverse and there’s no consensus so we won’t be taking a position.”

According to charging papers, Haq stalked his victims inside the federation’s second-floor office and chased one wounded woman to a stairwell, where he fired a second round that struck her head and killed her.