"We made eye contact, and he shot me again": Harrowing testimony on third day of Haq trial

As Layla Bush lay bleeding from a gunshot wound on the floor of her boss's office, her thoughts were a jumble.

Against a backdrop of gunfire and screaming coming from other parts of the building, Bush thought about how, as the receptionist, it was her duty to call 911 and report the rampage at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle.

But the pain in her side anchored her to the floor.

"I realized that I couldn't move, so there was nothing I could do even if he was reloading," she said.

Suddenly, the gunman, Naveed Haq, returned.

"We made eye contact, and he shot me again. I believe he was trying to kill me," she testified this morning on the third day of Haq's trial in King County Superior Court.

Haq, 32, charged with one count of aggravated murder, five counts of attempted aggravated murder and numerous other crimes, kept his head down and avoided looking at Bush while she was on the stand.

During her cross-examination of Bush, Haq's attorney John Carpenter tried to get more details about Haq's demeanor at the time of the shooting.

Haq has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Defense attorneys do not dispute that he entered the Belltown offices on July 28, 2006, and began shooting, killing Federation employee Pamela Waechter and wounding five others. But the defense contends he was insane at the time.

"He seemed panicked, is that fair to say?" Carpenter asked Bush.

"To some degree, yes," she answered, adding that Haq seemed to act deliberately.

Employee Carol Goldman, who also testified this morning, said she didn't know anything was awry that afternoon until co-worker Cheryl Stumbo called out to her to dial 911.

Goldman didn't get a chance.

Haq appeared at the door of her office, Goldman told jurors, holding a gun in his hand. "It was pointed directly at me," she said.

Haq fired at her knee, Goldman testified.

"I got out of my chair and dove underneath my desk, trying to get out of the line of sight," she said. "I was just trying to stay alive ... I was scared out of my mind; it just seemed so surreal."

Haq then disappeared and Goldman heard a burst of shots down the hallway, she testified.

"I heard one person whimpering. I heard one person screaming. Eventually, I heard footsteps running down the hallway."

Finally, Goldman reached for the phone and dialed 911, holding a T-shirt to her wound as she waited for police

According to police and witnesses, Haq, who is of Pakistani descent, made anti-Semitic statements before and during the slayings.

Prosecutors have opted not to seek the death penalty against Haq after reviewing his mental-health-treatment records. If convicted of the aggravated-murder charge, he faces life in prison without parole.

Natalie Singer: 206-464-2704 or nsinger@seattletimes.com