MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Cascade Mall shooting in Burlington: A timeline of events

Sep 24, 2016, 5:40 PM | Updated: Sep 26, 2016, 6:05 am

By Casey McNerthney, KIRO 7

Five people were killed after a gunman targeted people inside the Macy’s store at Cascade Mall in Burlington, about an hour and 20 minutes north of Seattle.

Arcan Cetin arrested in Oak Harbor after 24-hour manhunt

More than two dozen law enforcement agencies were involved in the search for the shooter, who was not immediately identified. Below is a timeline of events.

Download the KIRO 7 News App for updates livestreamed in every newscast until the manhunt ends.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23

6:52 p.m.: According to a screengrab on mall surveillance footage, this is the time the shooting suspect was seen walking through Macy’s with a rifle. The State Patrol later said the shooting happened near the makeup counter.

6:58 p.m.: A 911 dispatcher receives the first call about the active shooter. He was described as wearing black clothing and carrying a rifle. More than 26 agencies respond and about 200 law enforcement personnel were there at the height of the incident. The State Patrol later said video showed the man entering the mall without a weapon and reappeared on Macy’s surveillance video carrying a rifle.

7:06 p.m. Breaking Skagit first tweets initial details from the scanner about a shooting at Macy’s, telling people to stay clear of the Cascade Mall, which is at 201 Cascade Mall Drive in Burlington, about an hour and 20 minutes from downtown Seattle.

7:09 p.m. KIRO 7 hears scanner traffic about the active shooter. Preparations start to be live on TV, Facebook and kiro7.com once the information is confirmed by police.

7:33 p.m.: State Patrol Sgt. Mark Francis, the agency spokesman for Skagit County, confirms an active shooter, tweeting the description: “Hispanic male wearing grey. Last seen walking towards I5 from Cascade Mall Burlington.”

7:43 p.m.: The Skagit County Department of Emergency Management tweets for people to avoid the Cascade Mall area in Burlington and follow all road closures.

7:48 p.m.: KIRO 7 breaks into regular programming with news of the shooting, the mall lockdown and the wanted suspect. Details are posted on KIRO 7 social media accounts and kiro7.com. Live coverage continues on kiro7.com and KIRO 7 News apps and OTT devices until 11:30 p.m. Broadcast TV coverage stays on until 8 p.m., and is followed by cut-ins to regular programming as updates are given. Commercials are eliminated from the 11 p.m. broadcast for a State Patrol update confirming four victims and one injured. Use this link to watch the full coverage.

7:55 p.m.: Sgt. Francis tweets that he is at the mall and tells media to look for updates on his Twitter account instead of by phone because of the volume of calls.

8:03 p.m.: Sgt. Francis confirms four people are dead in the mall and the shooter or shooters left the scene before police arrived. Francis said there may be one shooter, but the total number is unknown. He also tweets that police are clearing the mall.

8:04 p.m.: Reporter and photographers begins staging in the southwest corner of the Cascade Mall parking lot.

8:21 p.m.: Family and friends of people in the mall are told by the State Patrol that survivors will be taken from the mall to His Place Community Church at 1480 S. Burlington Blvd. in Burlington.

8:24 p.m.: Medics enter the mall with a police escort after police initially checked the mall for the shooter. Francis tweets that they are holding out hope the number of deceased goes down. It does not.

9:01 p.m.: Police dogs were dispatched to the AMC Theatres at Cascade Mall for a secondary search.

9:02 p.m.: Skagit County scanner traffic discuss a possible suspect two blocks west of the Cascade Mall on Markwood Road.

9:12 p.m.: The first picture of the shooting suspect is released on the Skagit County Department of Emergency Management’s Twitter account. It is a cropped image of the suspect holding a rifle.

9:15 p.m.: A full frame of the suspected shooter photo is obtained by KIRO 7 and tweeted. The image, which was previously cropped by authorities, shows the suspect holding a rifle.

9:20 p.m.: The same cropped image of the wanted shooting suspect is distributed by the State Patrol, through Francis’ Twitter account.

9:26 p.m.: After talking with investigations, people who were inside the mall leave the scene for His Place Community Church.

9:29 p.m.: Gov. Jay Inslee tweets “tragedy has struck in Washington tonight. Our hearts are in Burlington where a shooter has taken the lives of at least four people.” He said queions remain, but that troopers and law enforcement are working swiftly to locate the shooter. Inslee asks for people to follow the detour warnings and to stay close to friends and loved ones as we await more information. “Trudi and I send our condolences to the families of the victims and prayers for anyone injured.”

9:35 p.m.: Francis changed the number of dead, saying three women were killed at the Cascade Mall. He said one female with non-life threatening injuries was at a local hospital, and a man was being flown to Harborview Medical Center, the regional trauma center, with life-threatening injuries. He did not have specific ages or immediately know if it was a targeted attack. Francis said the shooter hand a long gun, but did not give caliber. He asked people to stay inside their homes.

10:07 p.m.: The Seattle Mariners tweet that “Our thoughts are with those affected by the tragedy tonight at Cascade Mall. For those in Burlington, please stay safe.”

10:10 p.m.: Skagit County Department of Emergency Management’s Twitter account tells people to come back Saturday to get their vehicles at the Cascade Mall.

10:38 p.m.: The FBI said they’re assisting in the case, and that they have no information to suggest additional attacks were planned in Washington State.

10:50 p.m.: Francis said police were “about 2/3 of the way through doing the final clear” of the mall. There were “a lot of locked doors and room that had to be opened.” Francis later clarifies that the mall is 434,000 square feet with secure rooms and doors.

10:52 p.m.: A witness who said she was in a fitting room during the Cascade Mall shooting said the lone man shooter was yelling a female’s name as he shot people.

10:58 p.m.: Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said he is “deeply saddened by the tragedy in Burlington tonight. Thoughts and prayers go out to all affected by this horrific event.”

11:11 p.m.: Francis said 11 search teams were 90 percent complete on their building search. Two canine teams were on the perimeter “still actively searching for (the) suspect throughout the area.”

11:21 p.m.: The official count of deceased changed again. Francis said four women were killed in Macy’s. One man was flown to Harborview.  Francis said the mall search went from the south to the north. Still no word on a motive.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24

12:22 a.m. A law enforcement helicopter remains in the air searching for the suspect.

3:28 a.m.: The State Patrol confirms the fifth victim, the man flown to Harborview Medical Center, died.

4:30 a.m. The full search of the Cascade Mall is completed. Surrounding parking lots remain closed during the investigation.

8:04 a.m.: A multi-agency police briefing begins across from Burlington Police Department headquarters. Mt. Vernon Police Lt. Chris Cammock said the shooter entered the mall without a weapon, then reappeared 10 minutes later in Macy’s with a rifle. The victims ranged in age from a teenager to a senior.

8:13 a.m.: Burlington Mayor Steve Sexton said “the city of Burlington is probably changed forever, but I don’t think our way of life needs to change in our community.” He praises law enforcement who responded to the senseless act and said “now our support goes with them to help them extend the long arm of the law to bring the son of a bitch to justice who did this to our community.”

8:15 a.m.: Cammock said the suspect appears to be a man in his late teens to mid-20s. He said police have been getting a number of tips, but nothing that’s led to an arrest. Asked specifically if investigators knew his name, Cammock said: “We do not have an identity on the individual yet, and we could certainly use the community’s help on that.”

8:17 a.m.: KIRO 7 reporter Jeff Dubois asked Cammock why authorities think the shooting suspect is Hispanic. “I think that’s conclusions drawn by people who have looked at the photograph,” he said. “Dark hair. Photographs aren’t exact replicas because we’re taking it off of security footage, but (it) appears to be a little bit darker complected, so I suppose the race could be anything in there. But I think that’s why conclusions are being drawn.” He encourages reporters to look at the photo and see what conclusions they draw.

8:19 a.m.: There is no evidence that the Cascade Mall shooting was a terrorist attack, said Michael Knutsen, assistant special agent in charge of the Seattle FBI office. Knutsen said he can’t discount that, but can’t conclude the shooting was a terrorist act.

8:40 a.m.: The Skagit County Department of Emergency Management asks people with information to call police at (360) 428-3211 or scinv@co.skagit.wa.us. Additional photos of the shooting suspect are tweeted.

8:58 a.m.: A vigil forms at Maiben Park at 1011 E. Greenleaf Ave. in Burlington.

9:12 a.m.: Francis tweeted additional suspect photos using the hashtag #CascadeMallShooting

10:22 a.m.: State Patrol spokesman Kyle Moore said multiple agencies were reconstructing the entire mall scene, conducting forensic scanning and collecting evidence. Detectives continued to ask for tips and leads from the public.

2:19 p.m.: The Skagit County Medical Examiner’s office staff entered the Cascade Mall. Friends of possible victims continue to contact KIRO 7. Authorities said official family notifications had not been made.

2:23 p.m.: State Patrol spokesman Kyle Moore tells reporter Amy Clancy it’s very possible we may not get any new information “until there’s a break in the case.” He said no news conferences are scheduled because they don’t know anything more than they knew at 8 a.m. this morning and that the suspect has not been identified. Investigators were going through all surveillance images/video to see if a clearer image is available to be shared.

3:22 p.m.: Am alert was sent to riders on nine Washington State Ferry routes saying law enforcement is looking to help identify the active shooter involved in the Cascade Mall shooting. “If you can help,” the message reads, “please contact 911.” Authorities did not elaborate if they think the shooter took a ferry. The routes the message were sent to were: Anacortes/Sidney B.C.; Anacortes/San Juan Islands; Port Townsend/Coupeville; Mukilteo/Clinton; Edmonds/Kingston; Seattle/Bainbridge Island; Seattle/Bremerton; Fauntleroy (West Seattle)/Vashon/Southworth; Pt. Defiance/Tahlequah. The message was sent to ferry subscription message accounts.

6:24 p.m.: KIRO 7 hears police are investigating a person in Oak Harbor.

6:34 p.m.: A possible Twitter account is found for the person. KIRO 7 finds court cases for the person of interest and start reading records from Island County.

7 p.m.: A community gathering hosted by the Melodic Caring Project begins at His Place Community Church.

7:17 p.m.: The State Patrol tweets that the Cascade Mall shooter is in custody.

7:18 p.m.: They announce a press briefing across from Burlington Police headquarters later Saturday night.

7:24 p.m.: The Skagit County Department of Emergency Management tweets that the suspect in custody.

7:28 p.m.: Sgt. Francis tweets that the gunman was captured by authorities.

8:15 p.m.: The suspect in custody has been identified as Arcan Cetin, 20 years old. As part of a court case, Cetin was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation in August 2015. That was completed by March of this year. There were also questions in the court file about cannabis use. But a judge said that was not a mental health issue. In May, a judge approved deferred prosecution in that assault case — meaning Cetin was not convicted — and he was ordered not to have alcohol or drugs. As of Aug. 25, 2016, Cetin was in compliance with weekly sessions for mental health counseling, according to court records. He complied with the alcohol assessment, according to those records, and he had a deferred prosecution review for the case scheduled for 2018.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25

8:50 a.m.: Authorities say one of the five victims in the deadly Washington state mall shooting was a probation officer. The Snohomish County District Court in a statement identified Belinda Galde as an employee with the court since 1989. The statement says the 64-year-old Galde “was an amazingly kind and caring individual” who helped thousands of probationers find a better way to live.

11:00 a.m.: Authorities are searching an apartment connected to the suspect of the deadly Washington state mall shootings and interviewing relatives. Washington State Patrol Sgt. Mark Francis said Sunday morning in addition to going through the Oak Harbor residence tied to 20-year-old Arcan Cetin investigators are searching his vehicle. Francis said authorities don’t yet know who is on the apartment lease or how long Cetin may have lived there.

12:55 p.m.: Social media accounts apparently belonging to Arcan Cetin, the suspect in the Washington state mall shootings that left five dead, show he had a fondness for the military and video games. A Twitter account shows, among other things, various selfies, throwback photos of the 20-year-old in younger years, that he once participated in paintball and that he “can’t wait for Halo 5,” the popular first-person shooter video game. He also tweeted “Shout out to the ROTC peeps.” A Facebook account showed he liked military-related sites. Oak Harbor, where Cetin lived, is a city of 22,000. Many military families make their home in the city as Naval Air Station Whidbey Island is nearby. Oak Harbor is about 30 miles west of Burlington, where the Friday shootings happened.

2:15 p.m.: A neighbor and high school acquaintance of the suspect in the deadly Washington state mall shooting says he was “creepy, rude and obnoxious.” Amber Cathey, 21, lives in an apartment in Oak Harbor, Washington, next to the apartment where 20-year-old Arcan Cetin lived and told The Associated Press she was so frightened by him that she complained to apartment management and kept a Taser by her front door. She says she tried avoid him by walking the long way around to her apartment if she saw his car in parking lot. Cathey says she blocked him on Snapchat after he sent her a photo of his crotch. The two went to high school together, where Cathey says Cetin displayed “socially inept” behavior. Cetin was arrested Saturday following the shootings Friday in Burlington, Washington, that left five dead.

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