Posted on 09/24/16
| News Source: Associated Press
BURLINGTON, Wash. (AP) -- The first 911 call came in just before 7 p.m. on a busy Friday night at the Cascade Mall: A man with a rifle was shooting at people in the Macy's Department Store.
By the time police arrived moments later, the carnage at the Macy's makeup counter was complete. Four people were dead and the shooter was gone, last seen walking toward Interstate 5. A fifth victim, a man, died in the early morning hours Saturday as police finished sweeping the 434,000-square-foot building.
"There are people waking up this morning and their world has changed forever. The city of Burlington has probably changed forever, but I don't think our way life needs to change," Burlington Mayor Steve Sexton said Saturday at a news conference. "This was a senseless act. It was the world knocking on our doorstep and it came into our little community."
As the small city absorbed the news, critical questions remained, including the identity of the shooter, his motive and his whereabouts. A massive manhunt continued and police broadcast a plea for tips. The FBI said terrorism was not suspected.
The gunman was described by witnesses to police as a young Hispanic man dressed in black. Surveillance video captured him entering the mall unarmed and then recorded him about 10 minutes later entering the Macy's with a "hunting type" rifle in his hand, Mount Vernon Police Lt. Chris Cammock said.
Authorities did not say how the suspect may have obtained the weapon - whether he retrieved it from outside or picked it up in the mall - but they believe he acted alone. The weapon was recovered at the scene.
The identities of the victims - four women...read more at AP