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| Police Hunt Gunman Who Killed 5 at a Mall in Washington State | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The police were hunting on Saturday for a gunman who they say fatally shot five people at a mall north of Seattle on Friday night. | |
| The attacker killed four women in the cosmetics section of a Macy’s department store at the Cascade Mall in Burlington, Wash., the authorities said. A man was critically wounded in the shooting and taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he died. The youngest woman killed was a teenager, law enforcement officials said at a news conference on Saturday morning. | |
| The gunman, who was armed with a rifle, left the scene before the police arrived. The mall was evacuated after the 7:45 p.m. shooting, said Sgt. Mark Francis, a spokesman for the Washington State Patrol. | The gunman, who was armed with a rifle, left the scene before the police arrived. The mall was evacuated after the 7:45 p.m. shooting, said Sgt. Mark Francis, a spokesman for the Washington State Patrol. |
| A spokesman for the F.B.I.’s Seattle field office said on Saturday that there was no evidence to suggest that the shooting was an act of terrorism. | |
| Mayor Steve Sexton of Burlington described the shooting as senseless. “There are people waking up this morning and their world has changed forever,” he said. “The city of Burlington has probably changed forever. But I don’t think our way of life needs to change.” | |
| Mr. Sexton added: “It was the world knocking on our doorstep. It came to our little community here.” | |
| The authorities said they believe there was only one gunman. He was last seen walking toward Interstate 5, Sergeant Francis said. | |
| After the shootings, the gunman left the rifle behind, the authorities said. They declined to give details about the weapon or to say how many rounds were fired. | After the shootings, the gunman left the rifle behind, the authorities said. They declined to give details about the weapon or to say how many rounds were fired. |
| Security camera footage showed the suspect, whom the police described as probably in his late teens or early 20s, entering the mall without a weapon. Footage taken 10 minutes later showed him entering Macy’s with a rifle. | Security camera footage showed the suspect, whom the police described as probably in his late teens or early 20s, entering the mall without a weapon. Footage taken 10 minutes later showed him entering Macy’s with a rifle. |
| At the news conference, the authorities described the tense moments after the shooting, as officers searched the roughly 440,000-square-foot mall for the attacker, finding only store employees and shoppers. | At the news conference, the authorities described the tense moments after the shooting, as officers searched the roughly 440,000-square-foot mall for the attacker, finding only store employees and shoppers. |
| As of Saturday morning, the bodies remained at the store, said the Skagit County coroner, Hayley Thompson. She said she would not be able to confirm the victims’ identities until she gained access to the scene. The mall remained closed because it was still a crime scene. | As of Saturday morning, the bodies remained at the store, said the Skagit County coroner, Hayley Thompson. She said she would not be able to confirm the victims’ identities until she gained access to the scene. The mall remained closed because it was still a crime scene. |
| “I have not had a chance to get any of the information yet,” Ms. Thompson said on Saturday morning. | |
| Police officers entered the mall in teams, unaware during the search, which lasted for hours, that the gunman had fled before their arrival. They searched “every room and every nook and cranny,” said Lt. Chris Cammock, the commander of the multiagency response team conducting the investigation. | |
| Lieutenant Cammock declined to comment on reports that a witness heard a man shout a woman’s name. The authorities do not yet know the suspect’s motivation, he said. | Lieutenant Cammock declined to comment on reports that a witness heard a man shout a woman’s name. The authorities do not yet know the suspect’s motivation, he said. |
| Gov. Jay Inslee offered condolences on Friday night to the families of the victims. “Tragedy has struck in Washington tonight,” he said in a Twitter message. “Our hearts are in Burlington.” | Gov. Jay Inslee offered condolences on Friday night to the families of the victims. “Tragedy has struck in Washington tonight,” he said in a Twitter message. “Our hearts are in Burlington.” |
| The F.B.I. said early Saturday that it had “no information to suggest that additional attacks” were planned in Washington State, and that it was coordinating intelligence efforts with the local authorities. More than 200 officers from at least 26 agencies responded to the shooting, the authorities said. | The F.B.I. said early Saturday that it had “no information to suggest that additional attacks” were planned in Washington State, and that it was coordinating intelligence efforts with the local authorities. More than 200 officers from at least 26 agencies responded to the shooting, the authorities said. |
| Stephanie Bost, an employee at Johnny Carino’s, a restaurant at the mall, said that after hearing from a customer about the shooting — about 100 yards away — “we went on lockdown.” | Stephanie Bost, an employee at Johnny Carino’s, a restaurant at the mall, said that after hearing from a customer about the shooting — about 100 yards away — “we went on lockdown.” |
| One woman, Tari Caswell, told The Skagit Valley Herald that she had been in the Macy’s women’s dressing room when she heard four loud pops followed by seven or eight more. | |
| “I just stayed quiet in the dressing room because it just didn’t feel right,” she said. “And it got very quiet. And then I heard a lady yelling for help, and a man came and got me and another lady, and we ran out of the store.” | “I just stayed quiet in the dressing room because it just didn’t feel right,” she said. “And it got very quiet. And then I heard a lady yelling for help, and a man came and got me and another lady, and we ran out of the store.” |
| Officials also called off the Burlington-Edison High School football game and evacuated the stadium, which is just north of the mall, The Herald reported. | Officials also called off the Burlington-Edison High School football game and evacuated the stadium, which is just north of the mall, The Herald reported. |
| The attack was the seventh time this year in which at least four people were killed in a shooting in Washington, according to The Seattle Times. | The attack was the seventh time this year in which at least four people were killed in a shooting in Washington, according to The Seattle Times. |