Authorities arrested a suspect Saturday evening in in the slayings of five people in the makeup department of a Macy’s store at a mall north of Seattle.
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A press conference with more information is expected Saturday night.
But after a day of frantic searching local law enforcement were able to detain the 20-year-old suspect and bring him into custody.
Sarai Lara’s mother said she had survived cancer as a young girl and was a happy student.
She says Sarai went to Macy’s looking for trousers.
News of the shooting spread through the mall and Ms Lara tried to find her daughter but was unable to do so.
Skagit County Dept. of Emergency Services just released this photo of what is now believed to be the lone suspect in the shooting. No other details were immediately available. A news conference was set for Saturday night.
“It took several hundred to do that…clearing every room, to make sure the suspect wasn’t still on the scene”, Cammock said.
When asked what Cetin’s motive was, Lt. Cammoc said, “I have no idea”, although he added officials are not ruling out terrorism.
Turkish-born man suspected of shooting five people dead, including a teenaged cancer survivor, at a shopping mall in the U.S. state of Washington.
A bus transported survivors to a nearby church as authorities warned people to stay indoors and avoid the mall area. Footage taken 10 minutes later showed him entering Macy’s with a rifle.
She said she heard screaming as they were escorted out into the parking lot.
She said: “I’ve never been so terrified in my life”. Four females and a male were killed. “The city of Burlington has probably changed forever”. Police released his name and this mugshot on September 24, 2016.
Burlington is a city of about 8,000 people about 60 miles north of Seattle.
A suspect is in custody following the fatal shooting of five people at a mall in a rural town in western Washington, state police say.
Francis said on Twitter that police and rescue workers carefully worked their way through the mall, clearing stores and evacuating shoppers, some of whom, according to local media, locked themselves in dressing rooms. He described it as a “hunting type” rifle. The mall remained closed on Saturday as investigators looked for evidence and attempted to recreate the crime scene. The identity of the man who was fatally shot was also withheld.
As NPR’s Merrit Kennedy reported on Saturday morning, police believe he acted alone.
The fifth victim was reported by “Kvetv” to be a male. A man was critically wounded in the shooting and taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he died.
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Authorities have mounted a large manhunt for the shooter but he has not yet been located. He was last seen on Friday night walking out from the enclosed mall toward the nearby Interstate 5 highway.
