Cascade Mall In Burlington Shooting Live Updates: Multiple Deaths Reported After Shots Fired In Washington State

UPDATED: 7:13 a.m. EDT, Sept. 25 — Law enforcement officials in Washington State apprehended and arrested a suspect in Friday night's shooting at a mall that killed five people before he fled, sparking a nearly 24-hour manhunt in and around the city of Burlington. Arcan Cetin was taken into custody Saturday for allegedly opening fire in the Cascade Mall and killing three women, a man and a teenage girl, the Seattle Times reported.

Cetin was arrested in Oak Harbor, about 28 miles away from the shootings, after police were able to connect a car in the mall's parking lot to him. He was not immediately charged with a crime but was still expected to make his first court appearance at some point Monday.

He reportedly has a criminal history, though it was not immediately clear what his offenses were.

UPDATED: 6:40 a.m. EDT, Sept. 24 — Officials from the Washington State Patrol announced early Saturday that the fifth person, a male victim, involved in the Cascade Mall shooting has died. A manhunt for the suspect, who is believed to have acted alone, is still underway.

UPDATED: 2:33 a.m. EDT, Sept. 24 — Law enforcement is revising the death toll once again, this time to four women. Police confirmed earlier that three women were shot dead in a northwestern Washington state mall and one other victim was left in critical condition.

It was not immediately clear if the fourth person to be declared dead was the person who was critically injured or if it was a separate victim who was not initially accounted for. A different shooting victim was hospitalized with non life-threatening injuries.

UPDATED: 2:28 a.m. EDT, Sept. 24 — Witnesses to Friday night's deadly mall shooting in northwestern Washington state have come forward with their accounts that underscore the panic many likely experienced during the throes of the gunfire, the Associated Press reported.

After detailing "what sounded like four balloons popping," Tari Caswell said went on to describe her harrowing experience at the Cascade Mall in Burlington. "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."

The suspect has been described as a Hispanic male. Burlington, a town of more than 8,300 people, has nearly 32 percent Hispanic population, according to the most recent Census Bureau data available. The gunman fled shortly after the shooting and law enforcement was not able to immediately apprehend him.

UPDATED: 1:54 a.m. EDT, Sept. 24 — There are unconfirmed reports that the suspected gunman may have had an accomplice in Friday's night's deadly shooting at the Cascade Mall in northwest Washington state. An unverified Twitter user tweeted that an older white man was seen with the person authorities have identified as the shooting suspect before the deadly rampage took place.

However, the Skagit County Department of Emergency Management announced law enforcement was looking for a "single suspect," making it uncertain which report was accurate. At least three people died Friday from gunshot wounds and two others were hospitalized with injuries, including one person who was listed in critical condition.

An unidentified witness said the shooter was yelling a woman's name while he was shooting in the Macy's department store at Cascade Mall in Burlington, Washington, according to an unconfirmed report on Facebook. Three women were reported as the fatal victims in the shooting, which took place about 65 miles north of Seattle.

The FBI's office in Seattle announced it was aiding local law enforcement with its investigation as police continued to search for the man who was seen on the mall surveillance camera footage carrying what appeared to be a rifle.

The suspect was last seen walking toward Interstate 5, a nearby highway, shortly after the shooting. A motive for the shooting was not immediately clear.

UPDATED: 1:26 a.m. EDT, Sept. 24 — All three people who were killed Friday night in a shooting at a mall in northwest Washington state were women, according to a report from the Seattle Times. Five people were shot in total, including two survivors, one of whom was injured critically. The other survivor sustained non life-threatening injuries.

Reports surfaced immediately following the shooting at Cascade Mall in Burlington that four people were dead, but the Washington State Patrol eventually revised the death toll numbers.

The shooting took place shortly after 9 p.m. local time in the Cascade Mall's Macy's department store. The entire shopping center was evacuated as emergency responders arrived to the scene. The suspect is reported to have fled on foot toward Interstate 5, a nearby highway.

Photos of the suspect, who authorities have described as being a Hispanic male with a slight build, were captured from mall security surveillance footage and quickly disseminated on social media. The suspect had not immediately been located and a search for a lone gunman was underway.

UPDATED: 1:10 a.m. EDT, Sept. 24 — While the only description of the suspect in a deadly shooting at a mall in northwest Washington is of a Hispanic male, users on Twitter seemed to doubt the partial identification and speculated if the violence was instead the work of Islamic terrorism by a Muslim.

Because the Cascade Mall shooting suspect was still at large, a nearby high school football game in Burlington was halted out of caution.

UPDATED: 12:54 a.m. EDT, Sept. 24 — There are conflicting reports about the death toll from Friday night's shooting at a shopping mall in northwest Washington state. Three people have been confirmed dead and two others were injured, one critically, according to local media outlet King 5 News. That update was a departure from reports of four people being killed with no mention of any injuries.

The shooter was still at large as police continued to search for a man who has so far only been described as a Hispanic male.

Burlington is located about 65 miles north of Seattle.

UPDATED: 12:34 a.m. EDT, Sept. 24 — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee tweeted Friday night about what he called a "tragedy" at the Cascade Mall in the town of Burlington, where at least four people were killed after at least one person opened fire in or near a Macy's department store there.

The suspected gunman, who has been described as a Hispanic male, was not immediately captured and was still at large as police attempted to follow up on reports of him having attempted to break in a nearby home following the shooting, which took place about 9 p.m. local time.

UPDATED: 12:24 a.m. EDT, Sept. 24 — Photos of the suspected shooter in a deadly shooting Friday night at a mall in Washington state have emerged. The photo appears to be the latest clue in the violence that left at least four people dead at the Cascade Mall in Burlington, which is located about 70 miles north of Seattle.

Local police have cautioned that he may be armed with a single rifle.

There was no immediate indication that Friday night's shooting was an act of terror, although police were investigating that possibility.

All four people killed were found in a Macy's department store, according to local news outlet Q13 Fox. The retail chain's store in the Cascade Mall in the town of Burlington is reportedly where the gunfire started.

The only description police have offered is of a suspect is a Hispanic male who perhaps tried to break in to a nearby home following the shooting. Additional details were scarce.

"We have very little information right now," Washington State Trooper spokeswoman Heather Axtman told NBC News. "We're still trying to gather as many witnesses as we can to get more information."

UPDATED: 12:05 a.m. EDT, Sept. 24 — Those who survived Friday night's deadly shooting at a Washington state mall about 70 miles north of Seattle were being taken to a central location after having been evacuated following the violence that left at least four people dead, according to the public information police officer for the local law enforcement agency.

While police in the town of Burlington were searching for one suspect who has been described as a Hispanic male, it still was not immediately ruled out if there was just one shooter at the Cascade Mall.

It was also not immediately clear what the motive behind the shooting was, nor have there been any reports of any injuries beyond those who were killed.

UPDATED: 11:58 p.m. EDT — Police in Washington state were looking into a possible link between an attempted break-in at home and a deadly shooting Friday night at a nearby mall in the town of Burlington while trying to get a positive identification on a potential suspect, according to reports on social media. Law enforcement also issued an updated description of the Cascade Mall shooting suspect, who so far has only consistently been identified as a Hispanic male.

Four people were killed at the mall earlier in the evening by the suspect who was last reported being seen walking away from the shopping complex and heading toward a nearby highway, the Seattle Times reported. Police were also reported to Interstate 5 but were not immediately able to locate the suspect.

Back at the mall, where at least four people were reported dead, emergency responders were on the scene trying to assess the apparent carnage.

The suspect was on the phone with police making threats, according to an unconfirmed report from a police scanner.

Original story:

At least four people died Friday night after a shooting at a shopping mall in Washington state, according to multiple reports. Law enforcement was looking for at least one man suspected of opening fire at the Cascade Mall in the town of Burlington, which is about 67 miles north of Seattle.

Police released a preliminary description of the alleged shooter as people who had apparently barricaded themselves in the mall took to social media to report what they had witnessed.

The mall was evacuated and closed down shortly after the shooting with local law enforcement, including a SWAT Team, responding, according to social media reports. Additional details were not immediately available.

Photos from the outside of the mall flooded social media, showing a large police presence.

This is a developing story. Check back for live updates.