Jury weighing Jewish Federation shootings

SEATTLE, May 24 (UPI) -- Jurors began deliberations Friday in the trial of a man charged with shooting six women, killing one, at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle.

The jury recessed for the weekend after discussing the case without reaching a verdict, The Seattle Times reported.

Naveed Haq, 32, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. His lawyers said in closing arguments Thursday that he was incapable of telling right from wrong, while a prosecutor argued that he was capable of deliberate action, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer said.

"He was frustrated, he was angry, he was suicidal, but he wasn't insane," Deputy Prosecutor Don Raz said. "His mission was to end his life and to finally be something ... and in his death deliver a message about the plight of Muslims through the world. He planned. He intended."

Raz said when Haq began shooting he targeted those who were trying to call 911 or to flee.

Defense lawyer C. Wesley Richards used a picture of a stick of dynamite to illustrate Haq's mental state. He said Haq believed he was being directed by God.

If convicted of all charges in the 2006 rampage, Haq would face life in prison with no possibility of parole.