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Suspect In Fatal Shooting Of Five At Washington State Mall Captured

Suspect In Fatal Shooting Of Five At Washington State Mall Captured

By Matt Mills McKnight

BURLINGTON, Wash. (Reuters) – A man believed to have opened fire with a rifle at a Washington state mall, killing five people, was captured on Saturday, one day after the attack, authorities said.

Washington State Patrol spokesman Keith Leary said in a phone interview that the suspect was taken into custody but declined to immediately release more details.

Seattle television station KOMO reported on Twitter that the suspect had been captured in Oak Harbor, a community about 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Burlington where the mall shooting occurred on Friday.

Washington state police officials said in messages on Twitter that authorities would hold a news conference to provide further details about the arrest.

The shooter disappeared under the cover of darkness at the Cascade Mall on Friday, authorities said.

The suspect, whose name has not been released, is believed to have entered the mall in Burlington, around 65 miles (105 km) north of Seattle, and began shooting at about 7 p.m. local time on Friday in the cosmetics section of a Macy’s department store, police said.

He initially walked into the shopping center without the rifle but surveillance video later caught him brandishing the weapon, said Lieutenant Chris Cammock of the Mount Vernon Police Department at a briefing on Saturday.

(Additional reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles and Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

IMAGE: An image taken from security video shows the gunman who opened fire in the Cascade Mall in Burlington, Washington on Friday night, and who is still at large, released by the Washington State Patrol, September 24, 2016.   Washington State Patrol/Handout via REUTERS

Police Search For Gunman Who Killed Four At Mall In Washington State

Police Search For Gunman Who Killed Four At Mall In Washington State

(Reuters) – Police in northwest Washington state on Saturday conducted a manhunt for a gunman who opened fire in a mall, killing four women and critically wounding a man, media said.

A man walked into the Cascade Mall in Burlington, Washington, about 65 miles (105 km) north of Seattle and began shooting at about 7 p.m. local time on Friday, Washington State Patrol spokesman Mark Francis said on Twitter.

Four women were killed in the attack in the mall’s Macy’s store cosmetics department, Francis told the New York Times.

Authorities initially said on social media four people were killed in the shooting. As authorities cleared the mall and assessed the situation, the number of dead was revised to three, according to several local and national media outlets.

Early on Saturday, the Times along with several other media outlets reported that the authorities had increased the number of dead again to four.

Local and state police officials were not immediately available for comment.

Harborview Medical Center in Seattle said in a statement that it was treating a man who was in critical condition from the shooting.

Francis said on Twitter that police and rescue workers carefully worked their way through the 434,000-square-foot (135,000 m) mall, clearing stores and evacuating shoppers some of whom, according to local media, locked themselves in dressing rooms.

He also said police were searching the area for the shooter, who was described as a “Hispanic male wearing gray” and last seen walking toward a nearby highway away from the mall.

Local authorities searched throughout the night for the gunman, believed to be armed with a rifle and warned residents to remain inside.

“Tragedy has struck in Washington tonight. Our hearts are in Burlington,” Governor Jay Inslee said on Twitter.

The shooting comes less than a week after a man stabbed nine people at a mall in central Minnesota before being shot dead. The FBI is investigating that attack as a potential act of terrorism.

NBC News reported that Washington State Patrol had said that there was no indication of terrorism in the shooting in Burlington.

“At this time, the FBI has no information to suggest additional attacks planned in WA state,” the agency said on Twitter.

(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Milwaukee. Editing by Jane Merriman)

IMAGE: Washington State Trooper Mark Francis speaks to the media at the Cascade Mall following reports of an active shooter in Burlington, Washington, U.S. September 23, 2016.  REUTERS/Matt Mills McKnight