Off the wire
• Xinhua world news summary at 1530 GMT, Sept. 25  • Jiangsu Suning miss chance to narrow gap with Guangzhou Evergrande  • Shanghai bring pressure to Dalian in CWSL champion-fighting  • Oil prices won't recover immediately in case OPEC freeze outputs: expert  • ANC denies allegations over attempt to seek new rules to protect Zuma  • China Focus: Chinese film market slows pace, focuses on quality  • Bacsinszky out, Kuznetsova, Vinci advance at Wuhan Open  • Results of Chinese Super League  • Chinese Super League soccer standings  • Albania to use World Banks grant to promote investments in forestry  
You are here: 　 Home

3rd LD: Mall shooting suspect in NW U.S. arrested, identified

Xinhua, September 25, 2016 Adjust font size:

A lone suspect, identified as 20-year-old Arcan Cetin, was arrested Saturday night for his role in a mall shooting in the U.S. Pacific Northwest state of Washington.

Skagit Multiple Agency Response Team, based in Mount Vernon, the county seat of Skagit County, where the city of Burlington is located, said Cetin was arrested without incident at about 6:30 p.m. U.S. Pacific time while walking along a road in Oak Harbor.

Oak Harbor, a town in neighboring Island County, is about 29 miles, or 47 kilometers, southwest of Burlington, where the shooting took place Friday night and claimed the lives of four female and a male victims at the makeup department of Macy's department store, one of some 50 vendors at the Cascade Mall.

According to authorities, in less than 24 hours after the incident, investigators worked on "numerous tips" from the public and settled down on a particular tip that identified Cetin, an immigrant from Turkey with a permanent resident status in the United States, as a person of interest, therefore interviewing family and associates who are familiar with the man.

They also identified a suspect vehicle by reviewing security footage that had been gathered from businesses around the mall.

Earlier, authorities released security footage taken from within the mall, showing the shooter entering the enclosed facility, apparently without a weapon, and then holding a rifle in front of a store. He was last seen walking toward a nearby highway after leaving the scene.

No motive has been established as of late Saturday night, and Cetin is set to appear at a court for arraignment on Monday.

Withheld for the time being, information about the victims is expected to be released also on Monday. However, authorities noted, the investigation is likely to continue for at least several weeks.

Washington state governor Jay Inslee joined law enforcement officers at a press conference Saturday night in Mount Vernon to talk about the deadly shooting incident. Endit