The death toll in last night’s mall shooting in Burlington, Washington has risen to five — and the suspect remains at large. Law enforcement put out a picture of the gunman from surveillance video taken inside the Cascade Mall and asked the public to notify them immediately if they see him or know who he is. “If you see something, say something,” a spokesman said while warning people to “stay secure”:
Police searched Saturday for a gunman authorities said opened fire in the makeup department of a Macy’s store at a mall north of Seattle, killing five people before fleeing toward an interstate on foot.
People fled, customers hid in dressing rooms and employees locked the doors of nearby stores after gunshots rang out just after 7 p.m. Friday at the Cascade Mall. A helicopter, search teams and K-9 units scoured the area for a rifle-carrying man.
“We are still actively looking for the shooter,” Washington State Patrol spokesman Sgt. Mark Francis said at a news conference. “Stay indoors, stay secure.”
Francis said police were seeking a Hispanic man wearing black and armed with a “hunting-type” rifle last seen walking toward Interstate 5.
The FBI has joined in the search, for now in an advisory capacity. They won’t have jurisdiction unless the shooter crosses state or international lines, but the easy access to interstate travel makes their role almost a foregone conclusion:
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
So far there have been no late-breaking developments other than confirmation that a fifth victim has died. We’ll keep up with developments at this post, and hopefully the resolution will come quickly.
Update: Was the shooter targeting only women?
#CascadeMallShooting incident cmmdr: Suspect entered Macy's with rifle, fired multiple times. Hit females ranging in age from teen to senior pic.twitter.com/McG6uUlMgk
— Q13 FOX Seattle (@Q13FOX) September 24, 2016
Update: It’s not yet classified as terrorism, the FBI said today, but they’re not ruling it out either. They also believe that the gunman came into the mall unarmed:
MORE: FBI says there is no indication of terrorism in Cascade Mall shooting, but not ruling it out. https://t.co/e9VeziUxau
— ABC News (@ABC) September 24, 2016
LATEST: Authorities have not yet identified shooter in Cascade Mall shooting; say he walked into mall without rifle. https://t.co/e9VeziUxau
— ABC News (@ABC) September 24, 2016
So where did he get the rifle?
Update: Hot Air reader tr4a says local TV is reporting that police have the rifle, but not the suspect. They do have more pictures of the shooter now:
If anyone has information about the #CascadeMallShooting suspect, please call police 360-428-3211 or [email protected] pic.twitter.com/uN6a5AYixd
— Skagit County DEM (@SkagitDEM) September 24, 2016
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