A manhunt was underway on Saturday in northwest Washington state for a gunman who entered a Burlington shopping mall with a rifle the previous evening and killed five people before disappearing under the cover of darkness, the state police force said.
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At a vigil for the victims Saturday morning at Maiben Park in Burlington, Kelly Couture recalled what she heard as she left the mall’s Target store Friday night. No other details were immediately available.
“We are still actively looking for the shooter”, Washington State Patrol spokesman Sgt. Mark Francis said at a Friday night news conference. A gunman opened fire in the crowded mall north of Seattle, killing several people and critically wounding another before fleeing Friday night, authorities said. Francis tweeted a photo of the suspect, indicating that he is armed with a rifle and that anyone who sees him should call police.
The shooter’s motive was unclear, but there was no evidence that the shooting was linked to terrorism, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said. At a press conference on Saturday, however, authorities said they were not certain of the suspect’s race. The male victim, presumably in his 60’s, died today after being taken to the Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
NBC News reported that Washington State Patrol had said that there was no indication of terrorism in the shooting in Burlington.
Authorities released a surveillance image of the suspect apparently walking through a store and holding a rifle. We believe just one shooter. Patino said they stayed in the store until they were evacuated by police. “It was the world knocking on our doorstep and it came into our little community”. A fifth victim, a man, was flown to a local hospital in critical condition and died overnight, according to the Seattle Times. Cars parked at the mall can not be retrieved until sometime Saturday. So they’re still interviewing witnesses and trying to get a good idea of exactly what action to take next. “The guy is still on the loose and they don’t know where he’s at”. The weapon has since been recovered, officials said. “The city of Burlington has probably changed forever”.
SIMON: And I gather the mayor of the community had something to say.
After the shots stopped, Zavala went back into the Macy’s to search for his wife. They say until an autopsy has been done on each of the bodies, they will not be releasing any information about the victims.
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“Someone ran by and said, ‘There’s an active shooter in the mall, ‘ and told us to lock our gate”, Doc Barron, who had been teaching a boxing class at the mall, told the Skagit Valley Herald.
