Community reacts to shooting

[img1]Summer quarter is usually a relaxing time for members of the UW's Jewish and Muslim communities, but Friday's shooting at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle prompted an outpouring of grief and solidarity within the two groups.

Naveed Afzal Haq, a Seattleite of Pakistani descent, walked into the Jewish Federation's downtown office on Friday and began firing at staff members with a pistol, killing one woman and wounding five others.

"I'm a Muslim American, I'm angry at Israel," Haq reportedly said.

In a city where sectarian violence is all but unheard of, the incident came as a shock.

"I grew up in Israel, near places that were attacked," said sophomore Gilad Berenstein. "I never thought it could happen in Seattle. The Jewish Federation has supported a lot of us, and we're prepared to volunteer our time and give them whatever help they need."

The Jewish Federation has provided financial aid to hundreds of UW students, Berenstein said, who received a $2,000 scholarship from the organization.

Hillel, the primary Jewish group on the UW campus, will host a gathering tonight in support of the victims of the shooting. The UW's Muslim Student Association (MSA) also offered their condolences and sent a letter of support to Hillel.

"There's a lot of sorrow," said MSA public relations officer Zakariya Dehlawi. "We were very upset that such an incident occurred, and that the attack was done by someone claiming they stood for our interests."

As the Jewish Federation office prepared to reopen, well wishers left hundreds of flowers and handwritten messages in front of the building. Among the visitors was Margaret Hopstein, who works at the Washington Department of Health and Social Services office next door to the Jewish Federation. Hopstein said she and her co-workers were among the first to extend condolences to the victims of the attack, she said.

"It doesn't matter what a person's convictions are, opinions in this country are not expressed by guns," she said.

Jewish community centers around the city, including Hillel, are preparing to ramp up security. Hillel's office is preparing to install surveillance cameras and now requires registration to park at the building.

"I've gotten several calls from students since it happened," said Sarah Lawson, a 2005 UW graduate and a member of Hillel's Jewish Campus Service Corps. "They're saying we need to stand up for our community, to take precautions."