State authorities say they have taken a suspect into custody in connection with Saturday's deadly shooting of five people, almost 24 hours after the gunman opened fire in a Macy's store in a crowded mall of small-town Burlington, Wash.
Police identified the man as 20-year-old Arcan Cetin from Oak Harbor, Wash., where he was apprehended, about 30 miles west of the crime scene.
Washington State Patrol confirmed his capture in a tweet that said "#cascademallshooter is in custody," while WSP spokesman, Sgt. Mark Francis, tweeted "Gunman captured tonight by authorities."
As NPR's Merrit Kennedy reported on Saturday morning, police believe he acted alone. The Skagit County Department of Emergency Management released a grainy image from security camera footage, that shows an unarmed suspect. Police Lt. Chris Cammock said the suspect walked into the mall without a weapon — and "about 10 minutes later, entered Macy's with a rifle."
Following reports that he'd been apprehended, Sgt. Francis posted an undated Department of Licensing photo of Cetin to Twitter. Authorities say Cetin, a Turkish immigrant, is a legal permanent resident of Oak Harbor.
In a Saturday night news conference, Island County Sheriff's Lt. Mike Hawley said they tracked down the suspect after receiving a tip that Cetin was in the Oak Harbor area. Hawley said Cetin was unarmed at the time of arrest, around 6:30 p.m. PST: "He said nothing. He was kind of zombie-like."
Police said they know of no motive. Cetin had been arrested once before in Skagit County for simple assault last year, Hawley added.
According to The Seattle Times, though, Skagit County court records show he has at least three assault charges to his name:
"Cetin has a criminal record that included three domestic-violence assault charges in both Burlington and Island County, with the victim identified as Cetin's stepfather. He also was arrested for drunken driving. "Island County District Court records show that Cetin was told by a judge on Dec. 29 that he was not to possess a firearm."
Cetin is scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
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