Gunman kills one, injures five in Seattle Jewish Federation

Saturday, July 29, 2006 

The Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle building in Seattle, Washington was the site of a shooting on at around 4 pm on July 28. A gunman who walked into the building shot one person dead and wounded five others.

According to witnesses the man walked up to the building and shot a woman in the leg. He entered the building to go onto the roof and fire one shot before walking back inside and firing several more shots.

Most employees were able to escape through the backdoor.

After a few minutes the gunman surrendered to police through 911.

According to Amy Wasser-Simpson, the federation's vice president, the man shouted, "I'm a Muslim American; I'm angry at Israel," before shooting.

An employee who wished not to be identified spoke of the shots fired, “It went 'Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!' and then we heard a woman scream.”

“One of the receptionists told me that he shot her and then demanded that she call 911.”

“I saw one friend –– she had been shot twice in the stomach and was bleeding,”

All of the victims were women between 19 and 43. One of the wounded was 20 weeks pregnant.

"They have sustained wounds to the knee, groin, abdomen and arm. Three of the five have been taken to the operating room," said Pamela Steele, spokeswoman for the Harbourview Medical Center.

The FBI will be working with local authorities on the case.

The building has tight security. It was surrounded by a fence, it has bullet proof windows and all visitors must be buzzed in by reception.

Sources

• "Gunman kills one at Jewish centre" — BBC News Online, July 29, 2006

• Daisuke Wakabayashi. "Fatal Seattle Jewish center shooting a "hate crime"" — Reuters, July 29, 2006

• Rod Mickleburgh. "One dead in shooting at U.S. Jewish centre" — The Globe and Mail, July 29, 2006

• Seattle Times staff. "1 dead, at least 5 wounded in shootings" — Seattle Times, July 28, 2006