A jury in Seattle has found 34-year-old Naveed Haq guilty of aggravated first-degree murder and seven other counts for a shooting spree at the offices of the Seattle Jewish Federation in 2006. Haq's first trial ended last year with jurors deadlocked on whether he was legally insane during the shooting spree on July 28, 2006. The attack left one woman dead and five other people injured.
This trial was to determine whether Haq will spend the rest of his life in prison or in a state mental hospital. His own attorneys have conceded he poses a danger to the public and should never be free. The prosecutor argued that Haq had carefully planned the shooting and told his family in a phone call from prison that he knew what he was doing.
Richard Fruchter, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, welcomed the jurors’ decision: "This guilty verdict will provide closure for many in the Seattle Jewish community. However, even with this strong message that violence and hate crimes will not be tolerated, we are painfully aware that we cannot bring back Pam, nor erase all the scars and lifelong challenges to be faced by Carol, Christina, Layla, Cheryl and Dayna."
