The Cascade Mall shooter who killed five people in Burlington last year has died while in the Snohomish County Jail.
Follow this link to see photos from the Cascade Mall shooting case.
Arcan Cetin, 20, hanged himself while in custody on Sunday night, according to The Skagit County prosecutor handling the case.
It was not immediately clear how Cetin died. KIRO 7 is asking whether his death was a suicide, homicide, natural causes or accidental. KIRO 7 Reporter Rob Munoz is asking authorities those questions and getting additional details for KIRO 7 News at Noon. Watch with us on TV or use this link for the KIRO 7 newscast livestream.
What to know:
- 5 people killed in shooting at Cascade Mall in September.
- Four were women, one was a man.
- Shooter identified as Arcan Cetin, 20.
- Cetin was charged January 4 in Skagit County Superior Court with aggregated first-degree murder -- that's the only charge in Washington that brings the potential of the death penalty.
- See photos from the shooting scene here
- Read a timeline of events here
Key takeaways from charging documents:
- Court documents say the Washington mall shooting suspect confessed to detectives.
- The rifle used in the shooting was a Ruger 10/22 that had a 25-round magazine in the magazine well.
- When police went to Cetin's father's residence and Cetin's father said he was missing his Ruger 10/22 and also was missing .22 ammunition.
- Cetin's mother identified him from the shooting suspect images, according to court documents. She said she last saw him at his apartment on September 21, two days before the shooting.
Arcan Cetin, 20, was in court in January facing charges that could bring the death penalty.
According to charging documents, witnesses at the mall observed Cetin remove a rifle from his trunk of his blue four-door sedan, which was reported as either a Kia or Hyundai, according to court documents. Police later learned from Cetin’s father that he drove a blue Chevrolet Cavalier.
Police say Cetin entered the Macy’s women’s department through the west entrance.
He was inside the mall for approximately one minute during the shooting spree, investigators said.
Cetin shot 16-year-old Sarai Lara first near some clothing racks, then walked toward the cosmetics counter. He encountered victim Chuck Eagan, then shot three other women, police said.
>> See video from the Cascade Mall shooting case
Police said Cetin placed the rifle on top of the cosmetics counter, exited the Macy’s store through the west entrance and got into his vehicle.
According to the charging documents, “Cetin said that it was him in the video and he did bring the rifle into Macy’s and shot all 5 victims."
>> A timeline of events in the Cascade Mall shooting.
Video showed his vehicle traveling northbound on South Burlington Boulevard near Cascade Place. The vehicle was last seen on video near South Burlington Boulevard near West Fairhaven Avenue.
The Hispanic description came from 911 calls who said the shooter was possibly a Hispanic man dressed in grayish clothing who entered the store with a long rifle and fired multiple shots.
Cetin said on his Facebook page that he is from Turkey, and authorities later acknowledged the Hispanic description was based on initial information.
Cetin is from Oak Harbor and graduated from Oak Harbor High School in 2015. Family told KIRO 7 News that Cetin had mental health issues.
Acquaintances said Cetin had been working at the commissary at Naval Air Station on Whidbey Island.
>> Related: Would the Cascade Mall gun fall under proposed weapons ban?
The family of one of the victims, Chuck Eagan sent the following statement to the Skagit County Prosecutor's Office.
"We're understandably in shock over this development. Our heart goes out to Mr. Cetin's family. We pray that the man repented to God before his death. While this event puts to rest our fear of his release, we harbor no ill will towards Mr. Cetin or his family and pray for their comfort as we know all too well the pain of grief. The family wishes to extend our continued thanks to those who responded to this tragedy, especially law enforcement and the Skagit County Prosecutor's office for their steadfast professionalism and compassion. We are also grateful to all of those in the community whose love has helped see us through the past six months as we grieve and remember Chuck. The family requests privacy as we continue to process this turn of events."
Cox Media Group
