Man charged in Seattle shootings may plead guilty

The man charged in the shootings of six people at Seattle's Jewish Federation offices has indicated he wants to plead guilty, his attorney told a judge Thursday. Naveed Afzal Haq, of the Seattle area, is charged with aggravated first-degree murder in the death of Pamela Waechter, who was the director of the Jewish charity's annual fundraising campaign, and with five counts of attempted murder. Haq, 30, said little at his brief arraignment Thursday, but his court-appointed attorney, C. Wesley Richards, told the judge that Haq "is indicating that it his desire to enter guilty pleas." Richards said he was not aware before the hearing that Haq intended to plead guilty. At the attorney's request, the rest of the hearing was delayed until next Tuesday to give him time to determine whether Haq is competent a guilty plea. Haq is accused of forcing his way into the downtown offices of the Seattle charity and opening fire with a handgun, saying that he was upset about the war in Iraq and US support of Israel.