SHOOTING AT SEATTLE JEWISH CENTER
Randy L. Harrington
July 29, 2006
SEATTLE—Five people were injured and one killed Friday as a man opened fire inside the offices of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle. The man expressed anger towards Jews before he opened fire.
Seattle Police would not identify the suspect. He was arrested 12 minutes after the first telephone call to Seattle Police dispatch. Seattle Assistant Chief of Police Nick Metz said that police dispatchers received a telephone call which said that people had been shot and hostages were taken at the offices of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle. The federation is a fund raising and planning organization at the outskirts of downtown Seattle.
A short time after the first call came in the suspect spoke to the police dispatcher by telephone. Chief R. Gil Kerlikowske would not disclose the substance of the conversation in a press statement but said that because of what the suspect said in the telephone conversation the incident is being treated as a hate crime. Chief Kerlikowske said that the suspect was Muslim. Seattle police did not believe that the suspect was acting as part of a terrorist group.
FBI Agent in Charge of the counterterrorism unit in Seattle said “We believe at this point that it's just a lone individual acting out some kind of antagonism toward this particular organization.”
Gomez said that his office has been monitoring both Jewish and Muslim organizations, and has reached out to their leaders “for the past couple of weeks, since the beginning of hostilities in the Middle East.” This has been done as a greater effort to stop hostilities between various organizations in the United States.
The FBI said that it has issued two bulletins on July21, and July 26 that urges “vigilance” at organizations and religious locations because of the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in the Middle East.
Frederick Dutt, and FBI Agent said that there was an attack on a mosque in Seattle after September 11, 2001. The FBI investigated the mosques in Washington for connections to al-Qaeda but both investigations were conclusive that there was no connection. The FBI has indicated that they made efforts to pre3vent attacks on all organizations and religious locations.
Witnesses at the scene of the shooting have alleged said that the shooter told everyone at the scene that he was “a Muslim-American and that he was angry at Israel.”
Seattle Police Sergeant Deanna Nollette said that she believed that all of the shooting victims were women. A spokesperson for the federation to Associated Press that there are 25 people who typically work in the groups offices. The federation offices are on the second floor on Third Avenue in a usually quiet Belltown neighborhood. It is believed that less than the normal 25 people were in the offices on Friday afternoon because of the preparation of the Sabbath, and because it is summer
Seattle Police found a car they believed belonged to the suspect and planned to test the car for explosives, but Chief Metz didn't believe they would find any.
Seattle Police blocked doff several blocks around the scene of the shooting and briefly kept people inside other nearby businesses. Police were concerned at one point that the suspect was on the rooftops, but Seattle authorities later said that the fear was unfounded.
Seattle Police recovered the suspects handgun that he gave up when he surrendered.
FBI Special Agent Laura Laughlin said that the suspect was a United States citizen and that agents were interviewing his relatives, and friends.
Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said in a news conference that “This is a hate crime, and there's no place for that in the City of Seattle.” Of the suspect Nickels said “He is a not a resident of the city, and we know of no other connections that he has.”
SOURCES/CONTRIBUTORS: AP; SEATTLE TIMES; REUTERS; SEATTLE MAYORS OFFICE
Copyright 2006 Randy L. Harrington. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Seattle Police would not identify the suspect. He was arrested 12 minutes after the first telephone call to Seattle Police dispatch. Seattle Assistant Chief of Police Nick Metz said that police dispatchers received a telephone call which said that people had been shot and hostages were taken at the offices of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle. The federation is a fund raising and planning organization at the outskirts of downtown Seattle.
A short time after the first call came in the suspect spoke to the police dispatcher by telephone. Chief R. Gil Kerlikowske would not disclose the substance of the conversation in a press statement but said that because of what the suspect said in the telephone conversation the incident is being treated as a hate crime. Chief Kerlikowske said that the suspect was Muslim. Seattle police did not believe that the suspect was acting as part of a terrorist group.
FBI Agent in Charge of the counterterrorism unit in Seattle said “We believe at this point that it's just a lone individual acting out some kind of antagonism toward this particular organization.”
Gomez said that his office has been monitoring both Jewish and Muslim organizations, and has reached out to their leaders “for the past couple of weeks, since the beginning of hostilities in the Middle East.” This has been done as a greater effort to stop hostilities between various organizations in the United States.
The FBI said that it has issued two bulletins on July21, and July 26 that urges “vigilance” at organizations and religious locations because of the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in the Middle East.
Frederick Dutt, and FBI Agent said that there was an attack on a mosque in Seattle after September 11, 2001. The FBI investigated the mosques in Washington for connections to al-Qaeda but both investigations were conclusive that there was no connection. The FBI has indicated that they made efforts to pre3vent attacks on all organizations and religious locations.
Witnesses at the scene of the shooting have alleged said that the shooter told everyone at the scene that he was “a Muslim-American and that he was angry at Israel.”
Seattle Police Sergeant Deanna Nollette said that she believed that all of the shooting victims were women. A spokesperson for the federation to Associated Press that there are 25 people who typically work in the groups offices. The federation offices are on the second floor on Third Avenue in a usually quiet Belltown neighborhood. It is believed that less than the normal 25 people were in the offices on Friday afternoon because of the preparation of the Sabbath, and because it is summer
Seattle Police found a car they believed belonged to the suspect and planned to test the car for explosives, but Chief Metz didn't believe they would find any.
Seattle Police blocked doff several blocks around the scene of the shooting and briefly kept people inside other nearby businesses. Police were concerned at one point that the suspect was on the rooftops, but Seattle authorities later said that the fear was unfounded.
Seattle Police recovered the suspects handgun that he gave up when he surrendered.
FBI Special Agent Laura Laughlin said that the suspect was a United States citizen and that agents were interviewing his relatives, and friends.
Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said in a news conference that “This is a hate crime, and there's no place for that in the City of Seattle.” Of the suspect Nickels said “He is a not a resident of the city, and we know of no other connections that he has.”
SOURCES/CONTRIBUTORS: AP; SEATTLE TIMES; REUTERS; SEATTLE MAYORS OFFICE
Copyright 2006 Randy L. Harrington. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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