Cascade Mall shooting video released in Arcan Cetin case
Oct 29, 2016, 7:47 AM
Video of the Cascade Mall shooting — one in which police said shooter Arcan Cetin killed five random victims in the rural mall about an hour and 20 minutes north of downtown Seattle — was released Friday by the Washington State Patrol.
Footage of the Sept. 23 shooting was released after public disclosure requests by multiple news outlets. It shows how the shooter selected his victims, and is a key piece of evidence in the case against Cetin.
Some of the victims ran. At least one tried to confront the shooter.
Related: Cascade Mall shooting suspect admits to killings
It appears that those who escaped were able to only because of their distance from the shooter.
Part of the graphic footage shows two of the victims – and woman and her elderly mother — holding each other’s arms as they run behind a makeup counter. A third victim is crouched in the makeup counter.
The shooting suspect runs into frame and fires on all three, then puts his Ruger 10/22 on the counter and runs away.
Cetin was charged with five counts of murder and is being held on $2 million bail in Skagit County District Court. He is expected to be charged in Skagit County Superior Court by January 2017.
He could face the death penalty if Cetin is charged with aggravated first degree murder.
However, Gov. Jay Inslee, who is running for re-election and leading in polls, said in February 2014 he was suspending the use of the death penalty in Washington. Inslee said he hoped that would enable officials to “join a growing national conversation about capital punishment.”
Cetin was stopped for traffic incidents and was involved in domestic violence assault cases, but he had no criminal convictions. Some cases are ongoing.
Before the Cascade Mall shooting, Cetin was ordered not to possess firearms. In 2014, Cetin had no-contact orders with each parent as part of a domestic violence case.
The gun investigators said Cetin used, a Ruger 10/22, is one of the most popular guns in the national and is used for hunting small game. It retails for about $250.
The Cascade Mall shooting came nearly two weeks after Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced he would work to get assault weapons and high-capacity magazines banned in the 2017 Legislative session, which starts in January.
That proposal would not ban the basic Ruger 10/22. However, the version of the Ruger 10/22 that police said Cetin used in Cascade Mall shooting would be banned because it had a 25-round capacity.
