5 dead in shooting at mall in Washington state; suspect at large

SEATTLE — Five people were fatally shot Friday night in the Cascade Mall in Burlington, and officers fanned out searching for the shooter, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Four female victims were confirmed dead Friday evening, State Patrol Sgt. Mark Francis said. A male victim who had been flown to Seattle's Harborview Medical Center in critical condition died overnight, Francis tweeted at 3:28 a.m. Saturday.
It's unclear if there were any other victims. No other details on the deceased were immediately available.

The suspect was described as a Hispanic male in his 20s or 30s with a close-shaved haircut. He used a long gun similar to a hunting rifle, Francis said. Police released a security-footage photo of him shortly after 9 p.m.

Francis said the suspected shooter was last seen walking west toward Interstate 5 from the mall around 7 p.m. A search at the mall and surrounding area included bomb-sniffing dogs and a helicopter. Just before 11 p.m., Francis said two-thirds of the mall had been cleared, but there were locked doors and rooms that needed to be opened.

Emergency medics entered the 434,000-square-foot mall escorted by police, Francis said. Some people were still possibly holed up in the mall.

The casualty count fluctuated through the evening. Law enforcement officers first said four people were fatally shot, then lowered the toll to three before raising it again.

The four female victims were fatally shot in the Macy's store on the west side of the mall, the State Patrol said.

Around 9:20 p.m., police were swarming an area directly across I-5 from the mall. Police were telling people, "Get out of here immediately; you're not safe here."

Nearby residents were being told to stay inside and call 911 if they see anything suspicious. The Skagit County Department of Emergency Management also urged people to avoid the mall area. State transportation officials asked drivers to avoid the freeway near Highway 20, as well.

Michelle Fuller said her niece was in the mall and heard the shots, and then led people to a nearby bathroom to hide. When her niece called her, "You could hear the panic in her voice."

Tari Caswell told the Skagit Valley Herald that she was in the Macy's women's dressing room and heard what she thought were balloons popping, which seemed strange.

"Then I heard seven or eight or more, and I just stayed quiet in the dressing room because it just didn't feel right," she told the Herald. "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."

People who were inside the mall were being taken to His Place Community Church near the mall, Francis said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has no information to suggest additional attacks are planned in the state, spokeswoman Ayn Dietrich-William said. The FBI is sending a team to help local law enforcement with the investigation.
Burlington-Edison's football game against Lakewood at Burlington-Edison High School was postponed, according to media reports.

Gov. Jay Inslee released the following statement: "Tragedy has struck in Washington tonight. Our hearts are in Burlington."

This marks Washington's seventh mass shooting with at least four people shot this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Most recently, three people were shot dead at a house party in Mukilteo in July.

The nonpartisan organization, based in Washington, D.C., tracks and verifies incidents around the country, defining "mass shootings" as any single shooting incident in which four or more people are killed or wounded, not including the shooter.