SEATTLE - A judge declared a mistrial Wednesday in the case of a man who
stormed into a Jewish center two years ago and shot six women, killing one, as
he ranted against Israel and the Iraq war.
Jurors had indicated in questions posed to the judge that they were
hopelessly deadlocked and struggling to determine whether Naveed Haq, 32, was
not guilty by reason of insanity, as he claimed.
King County Superior Court Judge Paris Kallas ended the jury's
deliberations in their eighth day.
The jurors reached a partial verdict on only one of the 15
counts against Haq, finding him not guilty of attempted first-degree murder of
one of the women.
But they couldn't agree on the lesser charge of
attempted second-degree murder or any of the other 14 charges, which included
murder.
Haq held a teenage girl at gunpoint to force his way into the Jewish
Federation of Greater Seattle on July 28, 2006. Once in the second-floor office,
he began railing against U.S. policies and opened fire when someone tried to
call 911. He shot some people in their cubicles, some in the hall, and one,
Pamela Waechter, fatally as she fled down a stairwell.
An emergency operator eventually persuaded him to surrender.
Prosecutors quickly announced they hope to retry Haq this
year, and representatives of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle
expressed their disappointment at the mistrial.
"There is no argument Haq killed Pam. There is no argument he
viciously shot five others. There is no argument that he made anti-Israel and
anti-Semitic statements. Somehow, all this was not enough," said Jewish
Federation President Richard Fruchter.
During the six-week trial, prosecutors did not dispute that Haq had
mental problems and had struggled to make friends and hold down jobs. But he
knew right from wrong, could tell what he was doing and wanted to get his
message out, they said.
They noted that Haq planned the shooting for days, drove from
his eastern Washington home to Seattle the morning of the shooting and hid in
the building's foyer to avoid detection.
Haq's lawyers, however, argued that he had a long history of mental
illness that had recently been worsened by a change in his medication. A defense
expert diagnosed bipolar disorder with psychotic tendencies.