Mall shooting suspect: 'Creepy,' multiple arrests, disputes
- by Leah Brady
- in Worldwide
- — Sep 27, 2016
Authorities on Sunday continued their investigation into the suspect arrested in the Cascade Mall shootings that left five people dead.
Arcan Cetin has been charged with five counts of first-degree premeditated murder in connection with the fatal shootings of five people Friday at the Cascade Mall in Burlington, Skagit County. He was arrested Saturday evening in Oak Harbor, about 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Burlington, where the shooting occurred on Friday night. Hawley said he immediately recognized Cetin as the suspect, turned his patrol vehicle around and arrested Cetin without incident.
"He said nothing", said Hawley, who added that he was "zombie-like". But there was nothing else to inform that very general description, Lt. Chris Cammock of the Mount Vernon Police Department said, and he could be of any ethnicity.
As for the motive, law enforcement sources say Cetin's ex-girlfriend use to work at the Macy's where the shooting happened.
Police told reporters the suspect had one prior arrest for "simple assault".
Cetin, born in Turkey and a legal permanent resident of the U.S., was barred by a local court from owning a gun after three arrests on domestic violence charges involving his stepfather.
Cetin has a record of domestic violence against his step father and was told by a judge in December 2015 not to possess a firearm. "I did an abrupt U-turn, hit my lights, pulled my gun, and myself and Reserve Deputy Eric Rambaugh took the individual into custody". The fifth victim, a man, died in the early morning hours Saturday as police finished sweeping the 434,000-square-foot building.
Authorities collected evidence from the mall overnight Friday and all day Saturday as the bodies were removed from the premise.
An officer "with a large gun started yelling for people to leave and fast", she said.
He also said police were searching the area for the shooter, who was described as a "Hispanic male wearing gray" and was last seen walking toward a nearby highway away from the mall.
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The news reported also quoted Mr Marty Baldwin, who said he allowed Cetin, who was homeless at the time, to move in with him and his wife. Footage from about 10 minutes later showed him entering Macy's with a rifle and firing "multiple times", Cammock said.
Cetin's mother identified him from surveillance images of the suspect that were distributed after the shooting, according to court documents.
The Seattle Times said one victim was a 16-year-old girl who survived cancer.
Authorities said officers responded to calls about an active shooter inside the store around 7 o'clock Friday night in the city located about 65 miles north of Seattle.
Police have identified the suspect as Arcan Cetin, 20, of Oak Harbor.
Officials previously said it appears the gunman acted alone and they have no indication it was terrorism.
Authorities are considering whether terrorism was his main motive, and Fox reported that Cetin had a blog that included photos of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. The stepfather urged the judge not to impose a no-contact order, saying his stepson was "going through a hard time".
Attempts to reach suspect's family and friends for comment by phone and social media late Saturday night weren't immediately successful.
Island County sheriff's deputies spotted the auto near their office in Oak Harbor, but no one was inside. News of the shooting spread through the mall, and Lara tried to get to her daughter but was blocked from Macy's.
Authorities say they believe only one person fired the shots that killed five people.
