Mall suspect had history of arrests, records show
OAK HARBOR, Wash. — The 20-year-old man suspected of killing five people with a rifle at a Macy’s makeup counter had a string of run-ins with the law in recent years, including charges he assaulted his stepfather.
As investigators tried to piece together information on Arcan Cetin, who was arrested Saturday after a nearly 24-hour manhunt, a picture emerged of a troubled man. Court records show more than a halfdozen criminal cases in Island County alone, stretching to 2013.
Authorities said the gunman in the attack at the Cascade Mall in Burlington opened fire on the cosmetics department in Macy’s on Friday night, killing a man and four females ranging from a teenager to a senior citizen. The killer then fled.
Cetin said nothing and appeared “zombie-like” when he was taken into custody on a sidewalk some 30 miles away in Oak Harbor by a sheriff’s officer who recognized him as the suspect in the rampage, authorities said.
Cetin was arrested near the apartment complex where he was believed to be living.
Cetin immigrated to the U.S. from Turkey and is a legal permanent resident, officials said.
As surrounding communities absorbed news of the arrest, critical questions remained, including the gunman’s motive. The FBI said early Saturday there was no indication the shooting was terrorism, but local authorities said later in the day that they were ruling nothing out.
On Sept. 17, a 20-year-old man stabbed and wounded 10 people at a Minnesota mall before being shot to Selena Orozco, 15, left, and Rachel Marsh, 15, carry flowers Saturday as they attend a prayer service in Sedro-Woolley, Wash., for victims of a mall attack in nearby Burlington. death by an off-duty police officer. Authorities said they are investigating the attack by Dahir Ahmed Adan as a possible act of terrorism.
On Sunday, investigators searched Cetin’s vehicle and the apartment complex and were seen carrying boxes from a rear, upstairs unit. The four-unit building was surrounded with yellow police tape.
The Seattle Times reported that court records show he faced three charges of assaulting his stepfather. The newspaper said Cetin also was arrested on drunken driving charges. It gave no details on when the arrests took place or how the cases may have been resolved.
In the assault case, Cetin was told by a judge last December that he was not to possess a gun, the newspaper reported. However, the stepfather urged the judge not to impose a nocontact order, saying his stepson was “going through a hard time.”
Attempts to reach Cetin’s family and friends for Cetin comment weren’t successful. A man who came to the door Sunday at an Oak Harbor address believed to be where Cetin’s stepfather and mother live asked a reporter to leave the property.
Neighbor Jon Johnson said he believed Arcan Cetin still lived at the house. Johnson said he had many disputes with the stepfather.
“Two years ago on the Fourth of July we were having a function with our friends and his dad set tires on fire in the backyard,” he said.
Social media accounts apparently belonging to Cetin showed he had a fondness for the military and video games.
A Twitter account showed, among other things, selfies, photos of him in younger years and pictures of Turkish food.
He once participated in paintball and said he “can’t wait for Halo 5,” the firstperson shooter video game. A Facebook account showed he liked militaryrelated sites.