At least one killed during shooting at Seattle Jewish federation

[StoneMtn]

Breaking news, some scumbag...

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/279302_shooting28ww.html

At least one killed during shooting at Seattle Jewish federation

One person in custody

Friday, July 28, 2006

By PHUONG CAT LE, BRAD WONG, JOHN IWASAKI AND AMY ROLPH

P-I REPORTERs

At least five people were shot - one fatally - this afternoon at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle by a man a witness said was upset about "what was going on in Israel."

Police spokesman Rich Pruitt said there was one shooter, who was apprehended without incident outside the Jewish Federation Building located on the corner of Third Avenue and Virginia Street. Pruitt said there were at least two victims on the third floor of the building.

Police got reports of shots fired shortly before 4 p.m.

Early reports were that the victims were shot in the stomach.

The alleged shooter was taken away in a patrol car after being handcuffed on the sidewalk outside the building. Pruitt could not immediately say what motive the alleged gunman had.

One witness, who declined to give her name, said a man walked into the Jewish Federation building with a gun, said he was upset about what was going on in Israel, then opened fire. After the shootings, the man said to call 911, the witness said. The witness said the man identified himself as an American Muslim.

Fighting has raged in the Middle East since Hezbollah, a Shiite militia group based in Lebanon, went into Israel and kidnapped an Israeli soldier. Israel retaliated by striking targets in Lebanon and has sent troops into the southern part of the country.

Witnesses to the afternoon shooting and people who work at the Jewish Federation described a chaotic, terrifying scene.

Kami Knatt works at the federation's Holocaust center. As he exited the building, she saw a wounded coworker fall down. Knatt took her sweater off and tried to stop the bleeding.

"I asked her 'are you OK'. She said no I've been shot. 'I kept saying it's going to be OK."

The victim told Knatt: "I'm going to black out, I'm going to black out." Knatt replied: "You're going to be alright."

Nathaniel Mullins, 43, was turning onto Lenora Street with his 19-year-old daughter when he heard police say "get back! get back!"

Mullins said he saw two shooting victims. "They were covered in blood," he said.

"We were scared, heck yeah. It shot me for a moment."

Zach Carstensen, who is the director of government relations for the Jewish Federation, said he heard shots and screams.

"People started running and I started running with them," Carstensen said.

Asked whether he thought his office had been targeted because of the conflict in the Mideast, Carstensen said he wasn't sure. "We're all a little shaken, he said.

Sam Peterson, 18, who lives in an apartment on Third and Blanchard, said she was walking to the Lenora Apartment Building and cutting through the corner of Sigs Barbershop when she heard at least one gunshot.

She saw a blonde woman "drop to the ground. She screamed."

A Harborview Hospital spokeswoman said of five victims, three were in the operating room with shotgun wounds to the abdomen, knee, groin and arm. The spokeswoman wouldn't be more specific.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle was established 1926. According to its Web site, its mission is to "ensure Jewish survival and to enhance the quality of Jewish life locally, in Israel and worldwide."

[TheGoodRev]

That's unreal.

[kookycanooky]

saw it on the news...what the hell is wrong with people!

[dimafleck: the living legend.]

just to fill you in on the climate in the jewish community...

I go to the gym at my JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTRE and the huge complex is now closed off entirely except for the main entrance .....2 police officers patrol the entrance at all times.

[YearsAlongTheSea]

Yeah, this is all very, deeply fucked up in immensely broad proportions. What's going on right now, or has been going on for some time, is the modern day version of the assasination of Arch Duke Ferdinand in this New World War; call it III or IV if you're a fan of the cold variety.

It's apples and oranges, but either way, it's ugly.