Manhunt goes on for killer of five at shopping centre
Police have been searching for a gunman authorities said opened fire in the makeup department of a Macy’s store at a shopping centre north of Seattle, killing four women and one man, before fleeing towards a motorway on foot.
People fled, customers hid in dressing rooms and employees locked the doors of nearby shops after gunshots rang out just after 7pm on Friday at Cascade Mall. A helicopter, search teams and dog units scoured the area for a man carrying a rifle.
“We are still actively looking for the shooter,” Washington State Patrol spokesman Sergeant Mark Francis said. “Stay indoors, stay secure.”
Police said they were looking for a Hispanic man wearing black or grey and armed with a “hunting-type” rifle who was last seen walking towards Interstate 5. The description, including that he appeared Hispanic, was based on statements from witnesses, said Given Kutz, a spokesman for the
Skagit County Emergency Operations Centre.
Authorities say the motive was unknown for the shooting about 97km north of Seattle.
The male victim died yesterday at a Seattle hospital. It was unclear where in the mall he was when he was shot.
Authorities had previously announced the deaths of the four women. No other details about the victims were provided.
Tari Caswell told the Skagit
Valley Herald she was in Macy’s women’s dressing room when she heard “what sounded like four balloons popping”.
“Then I heard seven or eight more, and I just stayed quiet in the dressing room because it just didn’t feel right,” Caswell told the newspaper.
Stephanie Bose, assistant general manager at Johnny Carino’s Italian restaurant near the Macy’s said she immediately locked the doors to the restaurant after hearing about the shooting from an employee’s boyfriend.
“He was trying to go to the mall and people were screaming,” she said. “It was frantic.” She said armed police were at the doors but they had gone by 9.30pm.
Francis said at about 8.30pm that the mall had been evacuated and emergency medical personnel were cleared to enter. He said authorities were still doing a “final clear” of the 40,000-square-metre shopping centre late in the night.
Washington Governor Jay Inslee said tragedy had struck the state.
“We urge residents to heed all safety and detour warnings. Stay close to your friends and loved ones as we await more information and, hopefully, news of the suspect’s capture,” he said.
Cascade Mall is an enclosed shopping mall that opened in 1990, according to its website.
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.
The FBI was assisting local authorities as dozens of police officers searched for the suspect following the Cascade Mall attack.
“At this time, the FBI has no information to suggest additional attacks planned in WA state,” the Washington State Patrol said.
The rampage comes as the United States deals with the fallout from the fatal shooting of black men by police officers in North Carolina and Oklahoma .