He Shot at Their Mosque, Now He Hopes They Can Forgive Him

MERIDEN, CT - Former Marine Ted Hakey Jr. stood before the members of Meriden's Baitul Aman Mosque on Saturday and told them he was sorry for his actions in the early morning hours of Nov. 14 of last year.

It was that day, with too much alcohol in his system, that Hakey Jr., who lived next to the mosque, fired several shots at the building with one of the high-powered rifles he owns.

The shots rang out just hours after the Paris Attacks that took the lives of 130 people.

Saturday was Hakey Jr.'s second meeting with members of the Mosque, which was hosting a symposium called "True Islam and the Extremists." The other meeting was an emotional gathering several weeks ago, and in both occasions, Dr. Mohammed Qureshi, president of the mosque, invited Hakey to speak.

"It went against everything I stand for. After this happened, I begged the FBI to let me come over and apologize," said Hakey Jr., as reported by the Hartford Courant. "I read in the papers where [mosque members] weren't going to be afraid and keep worshipping. I feel God is very proud of your whole congregation for that. You all stood up and you came. I just ask for your forgiveness."

Hakey was soon arrested by federal authorities and charged with intentionally damaging religious property through use of a dangerous weapon, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. But the 48-year-old pleaded guilty in February to intentional destruction of religious property and when sentenced next month, he faces eight to 14 months in prison, reports the Meriden Record-Journal.

The incident has drawn national attention, even prompting the Obama Administration to invite Qureshi to the State of the Union, reports The Washington Post.

Hakey Jr. currently lives in Shelton at his mother's home, and in the weeks since the shooting members of the mosque have been very kind to him. To the point that he says he feels guilty having feared Muslims, which contributed to why he fired those shots.

He says he wishes that while he was living next door, he simply walked over, knocked on the door of the mosque, and started a conversation with the members, instead of shooting. That way, he could have learned about the religion and the members of Baitul Aman Mosque.

According to Qureshi, his congregation is eager to forgive Hakey Jr., in part because it is part of the teachings of his religion, and because he believes good can come of the incident in educating others about their message of peace.

Though facing jail time for his actions, Hakey Jr. agrees and says he hopes he can help educate others to avoid the mistakes he made.

Read the full Courant story here.

Photo: Ted Hakey Jr. Photo credit: United States Department of Justice