Victims bear scars of rampage

SEATTLE – There are no visible scars at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle building a year after the shooting rampage that left one woman dead and five injured.

The dim hallways have been replaced with high ceilings and sunlit open rooms.

But the five women who were injured and survived last July’s shooting still carry scars – on their bodies and in their hearts.

Saturday marks the one-year anniversary of the day when a man forced his way into the downtown Seattle offices with a semiautomatic handgun and began shooting. He said he was a Muslim angry about the war in Iraq and U.S. support of Israel.

Naveed Haq, who has a history of mental illness, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to 20 charges, including aggravated first-degree murder and five counts of attempted first-degree murder. He is scheduled for trial in January. He will be sentenced to life in prison if convicted of aggravated murder.

Pamela Waechter, 58, the federation’s fundraising director, was dead when the shooting stopped.

Among the injured were Layla Bush, Carol Goldman, Dayna Klein, Christina Rexroad and Cheryl Stumbo.

Nearly $1.3 million raised from donors and $900,000 earmarked by the state Legislature helped pay for security and aesthetic upgrades for the office. It reopened in February with bulletproof glass and a new design, giving those who lived through July 28, 2006, a sense of security and a fresh start.

“I couldn’t have gone back if it looked the same, but I can hardly recognize it,” said Goldman, who is still recovering from a gunshot to her knee.

Several survivors like Goldman said the new work space has helped them start over. But some, like Bush, said that visiting the old office a final time was the best way to come to terms with the shooting and move on.

“I found the hole in the wall where one of the bullets went through my shoulder and into the wall,” Bush said of her visit just a month and a half after the shooting. “It felt weird, but I got my closure.”

Survivors are learning to embrace life after the shootings.

Bush’s arm and abdomen are scarred by the bullets and surgeries, but she says, “I think all of us (survivors) are incredibly lucky. It could have been much worse.”

“Like any trauma you go through, there are peaks and valleys afterward,” federation employee Tammy Kaiser said of the mood around the office. “This week just happens to be a low point.”