Washington shooting: Four women killed at Burlington's Cascade mall, police search for suspect

Burlington: Police on Saturday searched for a gunman who opened fire in the makeup department of a Macy’s store at a mall north of Seattle, killing four females, authorities said. Washington State Patrol spokesman Sgt. Mark Francis said police were seeking a Hispanic man wearing black and armed with a rifle last seen walking toward Interstate 5. “We are still actively looking for the shooter,” Francis said at a news conference. “Stay indoors, stay secure.”

90% complete with building search. 11 search teams, 2 K9 teams on perimeter. Still actively searching for suspect throughout the area.

— Trooper Kelsey Harding (@wspd7pio) September 24, 2016

Authorities say the motive for Friday night’s shooting which also left a male critically wounded was unknown. [caption id=“attachment_3018798” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  The deadly shooting happened in the Cascade Mall in Burlington, Washington, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of Seattle. AP.[/caption] The FBI was assisting local authorities as dozens of police officers searched for the suspect. The FBI’s Seattle office said on Twitter that it “has no information to suggest additional attacks planned” in Washington state but did not elaborate.

At this time, #FBI has no information to suggest additional attacks planned in WA state. Assisting with intel review & manpower #SkagitDEM

— FBI Seattle (@FBISeattle) September 24, 2016

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The deadly shooting happened in the Cascade Mall in Burlington, Washington, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of Seattle. Francis said the “lone shooter” attacked the victims with a “hunting type rifle.” Police released a closely cropped still from video surveillance of the young-looking suspect showing only his head and torso, though the full picture, published by local media, showed him holding what appears to be a rifle while walking in a clothing retail store. Authorities initially reported four people were killed, then said three were dead, before revising the number again. Francis said the number fluctuated as authorities searched the shopping center. Police received calls around 6:58 pm (0058 GMT) that shots were fired at the mall, located about 70 miles (110 kilometers) north of Seattle in the US Pacific Northwest state, Trooper Rick Johnson, a spokesman, told CNN. Tari Caswell told the Skagit Valley Herald she was in the Macy’s women’s dressing room when she heard “what sounded like four balloons popping”. “Then I heard seven or eight more, and I just stayed quiet in the dressing room because it just didn’t feel right. And it got very quiet. And then I heard a lady yelling for help, and a man came and got me and another lady, and we ran out of the store,” Caswell told the newspaper. Stephanie Bose, an assistant general manager at Johnny Carino’s Italian restaurant near the Macy’s store at the mall, said she immediately locked the doors to the restaurant after hearing about the shooting from an employee’s boyfriend. Washington State Patrol spokesman Sgt. Mark Francis said police were seeking a Hispanic man wearing black and armed with a rifle last seen walking toward Interstate 5. “He was trying to go to the mall and people were screaming,” she told The Associated Press. “It was frantic.” She said he could see police at the doors with assault rifles and said they were no longer guarding the doors as of 9:30 p.m. Francis said at about 8.30 p.m. that the mall had been evacuated and emergency medical personnel were cleared to enter. Francis said authorities were still doing a “final clear” of the 434,000-square-foot (40,319-square-meter) mall late Friday night. He said 11 search teams and two K9 units were involved. The parking lot was closed and emergency management officials told people they would be able to retrieve vehicles Saturday. Gov Jay Inslee said tragedy had struck the state. “We urge residents to heed all safety and detour warnings. Stay close to your friends and loved ones as we await more information and, hopefully, news of the suspect’s capture,” Inslee said in a statement. The Cascade Mall is an enclosed shopping mall that opened in 1990, according to the mall’s website. It features JC Penney, TJ Maxx, and Macy’s stores, among other stores, restaurants and a movie theater. On 17 September, a man stabbed 10 people at a Minnesota mall before being shot and killed by an off-duty police officer. Authorities say Dahir Ahmed Adan, 20, stabbed the people at the Crossroads Center in St Cloud, Minnesota. With inputs from agencies