No Slack for Haq

Don't be angry at Naveed Haq.

Try to understand why he shot six women, one fatally.

He was troubled. Give him a break.

WEST RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) -- The suspect in a fatal shooting rampage at a Jewish charity deeply disappointed his parents because he had dropped out of dentistry school, and had been getting psychiatric help for 10 years, a family friend and his lawyer said.

Naveed Haq, 30, was a bright student who moved to the East Coast to study dentistry after graduating from high school in 1994, said Muhammad Ullah, a close friend of the suspect's family.

But he dropped out after just a few years, frustrating his accomplished parents and straining their relationship.

"They had expressed to me their concern and unhappiness: 'He can't decide what he wants to do with his life,'" said Ullah, a senior member of the Islamic Center of the Tri-Cities. "He had grown distant from his family since he didn't finish school."

...He is accused of opening fire with two semiautomatic pistols at the Jewish told a 911 dispatcher: "These are Jews and I'm tired of getting pushed around and our people getting pushed around by the situation in the Middle East."

I guess Haq decided what he wanted to do with his life.

...Haq's family was well-known in the local Muslim community, where his father, Mian, an engineer, was a founding member of the Islamic Center in this south-central Washington town.

Haq, whose parents had moved to the United States from Pakistan in the excelled in writing, winning an essay contest as a teenager, Ullah said. He eventually completed an engineering degree at Washington State University.

Then in March, Haq was arrested at a Benton County stopping mall. Newspaper reports said that he climbed onto a raised coin fountain and exposed himself to young women.

Larry Stephenson, a Kennewick lawyer who is representing Haq on the lewd conduct charge, told The Seattle Times that Haq has been getting psychiatric help for about 10 years.

"He's had real difficulty," he said, adding that he thought Haq was single and unemployed.

Lots of people have real difficulty.

Lots of people disappoint their parents.

Lots of people don't commit murder because they're struggling.

Ullah told The Times that the parents were "desperately trying to help their son," who was on medication.

Haq had asked Ullah to bail him out of jail after being arrested at the shopping mall.

"He was too embarrassed to call his parents. He was in enough trouble with them already," Ullah said. "Because we were the closest friends to the family, he probably sensed he could trust me."

...Haq's parents are devastated and struggling to understand how their son strayed from the teachings of Islam, Ullah said.

Does that last sentence jump out at you?

Haq strayed from the teachings of Islam.

Really?

Millions of Muslims believe that their faith calls them to annihilate the Jews.

Haq is right on target with that intrepretation of the teachings of Islam.

No one answered the door at the Haq residence north of Pasco, where Haq's parents moved in the past few years after raising their two sons in nearby Richland.

"We feel bad for his parents _ good parents, good people," Ullah said. "Today, this is a totally sad day for our community."

The devastation that Haq's parents feel can't begin to compare with what the loved ones of the slain woman are experiencing.

It sounds like the groundwork is being laid to excuse Haq's behavior, because he was troubled and had received psychiatric care.

If we're forgiving, compassionate people, we're expected to cut Haq some slack.

What he did wasn't really a hate crime. A sick man did a sick thing. He's a victim of his illness.

Blah, blah, blah.

Haq specifically targeted Jews. He shot six people, killing one.

That's not the typical response to dropping out of dentistry school.