Cascade Mall shooting

{{Infobox civilian attack

| title = Cascade Mall shooting

| image = File:Cascade mall shooter.png

| alt =

| caption = Closed-circuit television stills of the shooter

| map = {{Location map | USA Washington#USA

| lat_deg = 48.462213

| lon_deg = -122.337782

}}

| location = Cascade Mall, Burlington, Washington, U.S.

| target =

| coordinates = {{coord|48.462213|-122.337782|display=inline,title}}

| | date = {{start date and age|2016|9|23}}

| time = 6:52 p.m.

| timezone = PDT

| type = Mass shooting, mass murder

| fatalities = 5

| injuries = 0

| perp = Arcan Cetin

| assailants =

| weapons = Ruger 10/22 rifle{{cite web|url=http://www.kiro7.com/news/local/would-the-cascade-mall-gun-fall-under-proposed-weapons-ban/451062731| title=Would the Cascade Mall gun fall under proposed weapons ban?| date=September 27, 2016}}

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On September 23, 2016, a mass shooting occurred at Cascade Mall in Burlington, Washington, United States. Five people were killed in the incident. The gunman was identified as Arcan Cetin, a 20-year-old who emigrated from Turkey as a child with his family. He was arrested the following day in Oak Harbor, Washington, his hometown.{{cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/23/us/washington-mall-shooting/index.html | title=Washington mall shooting: Manhunt underway after gunman kills 5 | work=CNN | date=September 24, 2016 | access-date=September 24, 2016 | last1=Karimi | first1=Faith | last2=Pavlak | first2=Shanna | last3=Sutton | first3=Joe}} On September 26, he confessed to committing the shooting.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/09/25/after-day-long-manhunt-police-arrest-20-year-old-in-washington-state-mall-killings/|title=Washington mall shooting suspect confesses to killings|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=September 26, 2016|access-date=October 20, 2016|first1=Jody|last1=Allard|first2=M.L.|last2=Lyke|first3=Amy B.|last3=Wang}} On April 16, 2017, Cetin killed himself via hanging in his jail cell.{{cite web |url=http://q13fox.com/2017/06/12/suspect-in-cascade-mall-shooting-that-killed-5-died-of-suicide-in-jail-sheriffs-probe-confirms/ |title=Suspect in Cascade Mall shooting that killed 5 died of suicide in jail, sheriff's probe confirms |date=June 13, 2017 |work=Q13 FOX News |accessdate=June 15, 2017}}{{cite web |last1=North |first1=Scott |last2=King |first2=Rikki |url=https://www.heraldnet.com/news/reports-detail-accused-mall-shooters-suicide-at-county-jail/ |title=Reports detail accused mall shooter's suicide at county jail |work=HeraldNet |date=August 4, 2017 |accessdate=August 5, 2017}}

Killings

On September 23, 2016, Cetin bought tickets to an evening showing of the movie Snowden at Cascade Mall in Burlington, Washington. He propped open the theater's exit door with his cell phone and left the theater, an action reminiscent of how the 2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting was carried out. However, a theater associate found the phone and turned it in to a theater kiosk, where Cetin subsequently retrieved it.{{cite web |last=Bellisle |first=Martha |url=http://www.njherald.com/article/20161118/AP/311189884# |title=Suspect in Washington mall shooting began at theater |date=November 18, 2016 |work=New Jersey Herald |access-date=November 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161120154158/http://www.njherald.com/article/20161118/AP/311189884 |archive-date=November 20, 2016 |url-status=dead }} Shortly before 7:00 p.m. PDT on the same day, Cetin walked into a Macy's store at Cascade Mall with a stolen Ruger 10/22 rifle and opened fire,{{cite web | url=http://www.king5.com/news/local/five-people-dead-in-cascade-mall-shooting-in-burlington/324940198 | title=Tips from public lead to arrest of Burlington mall shooting suspect | publisher=KING-TV | date=September 25, 2016 | access-date=October 19, 2016}}{{cite news | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/09/25/washington-mall-shooting-suspect-arcan-cetin/91071336/ | title=Washington mall shooting suspect to face 5 murder charges | newspaper=USA Today | date=September 25, 2016 | access-date=October 19, 2016 | first1=Steph | last1=Solis | first2=Trevor | last2=Hughes}} killing a teenage girl, three women, and one man, the latter of whom died the next day at a Seattle hospital from three gunshot wounds, including one to the head.{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/least-3-dead-shooting-cascade-mall-washington-state-n653756|title=Macy's Shooting: Police Plead for Help IDing Gunman After 5 Killed at Washington Mall|work=NBC News|date=September 24, 2016|access-date=September 24, 2016|first1=Gemma|last1=Dicasimirro|first2=Alastair|last2=Jamieson|first3=Jillian|last3=Sederholm|first4=Elizabeth|last4=Chuck}}{{Cite web |date=2016-11-04 |title='I was trying to keep him alive': Survivors of Cascade Mall shooting recall night of terror, displays of bravery |url=https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/i-was-trying-to-keep-him-alive-survivors-of-cascade-mall-shooting-recall-night-of-terror-displays-of-bravery |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=FOX 13 Seattle |language=en-US}}

Video footage of the shooting, released on October 28, showed the gunman randomly targeting his victims. He first killed a teenage girl near some clothing racks, then approached a cosmetics counter, where he killed one man and three women. All of the victims were shot at close range, while others present in the store escaped unharmed because of their distance from the shooter. Afterwards, the gunman abandoned his weapon and fled the scene in a blue four-door vehicle.{{cite web|url=http://www.kiro7.com/news/local/cascade-mall-shooting-video-released-in-arcan-cetin-case/461724123|title=Cascade Mall shooting video released in Arcan Cetin case|work=KIRO|date=October 28, 2016|access-date=October 29, 2016|first=Casey|last=McNerthney}}

The FBI and ATF provided assistance to the Burlington police and Washington state police in investigating the shooting.{{cite web|url=http://q13fox.com/2016/09/23/at-least-two-people-shot-at-cascade-mall-in-burlington/|title=Fifth victim dies in Cascade Mall shooting in Burlington; suspect remains at large|publisher=KCPQ|date=September 23, 2016|access-date=September 24, 2016}}

The shooting followed a number of widely publicized attacks on shopping centers, and came a week after a mass stabbing at the Crossroads Center shopping mall in St. Cloud, Minnesota.{{cite news|last1=Young|first1=Matt|title=Upgraded charges mean Cascade Mall shooting suspect Arcan Cetin could face death penalty|url=http://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/upgraded-charges-mean-cascade-mall-shooting-suspect-arcan-cetin-could-face-death-penalty/news-story/148471e0f68b131a584321925b36d7fb|access-date=7 February 2017|agency=AP|publisher=news.com.au|date=10 January 2017}}

= Victims =

Five people were killed in the shooting. They were Sarai Lara (16), a sophomore at Mount Vernon High School and cancer survivor;{{cite news|url=http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/victims-families-grieve-the-loss-of-loved-ones-at-burlington-mall/ |first1=Jessica |last1=Lee |first2=Mike |last2=Maker |newspaper=The Seattle Times |title=16-year-old cancer survivor among the dead; victims' families grieve |quote=Lara, a Mount Vernon High School sophomore, was one of five people killed when a gunman opened fire in the Burlington department store. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160925233329/http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/victims-families-grieve-the-loss-of-loved-ones-at-burlington-mall/ |archive-date=September 25, 2016 |access-date=September 24, 2016 |date=September 24, 2016 |url-status=live }} Chuck Eagan (61), a Boeing maintenance worker from Lake Stevens;{{cite news|quote=Chuck Eagan, a longtime Boeing maintenance worker from Lake Stevens, was also a victim, according to his aunt, Carol Thrush. She said Eagan and his wife had gone out to dinner and to the mall to shop and were in Macy's when the shooter began his rampage. |title=Suspected gunman charged with 1st-degree murder in Washington state mall shooting |first1=Yvette C. |last1=Hammett |first2=Amy R. |last2=Connolly |date=September 25, 2016 |archive-date=September 25, 2016 |url=http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2016/09/25/Suspected-gunman-arrested-in-Washington-state-mall-shooting/7621474805283/ |publisher=UPI |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160925233544/http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2016/09/25/Suspected-gunman-arrested-in-Washington-state-mall-shooting/7621474805283/ |url-status=live }} Belinda Galde (64), a probation officer with the Snohomish County District Court;{{cite news|quote=The Snohomish County District Court in a statement identified Belinda Galde as an employee with the court since 1989. |title=The Latest: Mall shooting victim was probation officer |agency=Associated Press |publisher=Fox News |url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/the-latest-mall-shooting-victim-was-probation-officer/ |date=September 25, 2016 |access-date=September 25, 2016 |archive-date=September 25, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160925234021/http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/09/25/latest-mall-shooting-victim-was-probation-officer.html |url-status=live }} Beatrice Dotson (95), Galde's mother;{{cite news|url=http://www.kiro7.com/special/housing/remembering-the-5-people-killed-in-burlington-wash-mall-shooting/449887114 |publisher=KIRO-TV |quote=Beatrice was 95 years old. |title=Cascade Mall shooting victims: Remembering the 5 people killed |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160925234359/http://www.kiro7.com/special/housing/remembering-the-5-people-killed-in-burlington-wash-mall-shooting/449887114 |date=September 25, 2016 |archive-date=September 25, 2016 |url-status=live }} and Shayla Martin (52), a make-up artist at Macy's.{{cite news|url=http://q13fox.com/2016/09/25/the-5-victims-in-the-cascade-mall-shooting/ |title=The victims in the Cascade Mall shooting |date=September 25, 2016 |access-date=September 25, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160925232911/http://q13fox.com/2016/09/25/the-5-victims-in-the-cascade-mall-shooting/ |archive-date=September 25, 2016 |publisher=KCPQ |url-status=live }}

Legal proceedings

Cetin was charged with "premeditated intent" on five counts of aggravated murder, a charge that was upgraded from the initial charge of first-degree premeditated murder. The charge of aggravated murder is punishable by a sentence of life without parole, or, at the time of the shooting, by the death penalty.

= Perpetrator =

Arcan Cetin{{cite news|title=Man suspected of killing 5 people at Burlington mall arrested in Oak Harbor|url=http://komonews.com/news/local/sheriffs-office-person-of-interest-arrested-in-cascade-mall-shooting|access-date=September 25, 2016|work=KOMO|date=September 25, 2016}} ({{IPA|tr|aɾˈdʒan tʃeˈtin|pron}}, August 20, 1996 – April 16, 2017) was born in Adana, Turkey. He immigrated to the United States as a child after his mother married a U.S. citizen. Authorities initially identified him as a "permanent resident" until further investigation found that he was a naturalized American citizen.{{cite news|last1=Brand|first1=Natalie|title=Cascade Mall suspect is U.S. citizen|url=https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/cascade-mall-suspect-is-us-citizen/281-327490798|access-date=October 27, 2021|work=KING-TV|date=September 30, 2016}} He graduated from Oak Harbor High School in 2015{{cite news|url=http://www.whidbeynewstimes.com/news/394705781.html|title=Mall shooting suspect arrested in Oak Harbor|work=Whidbey News-Times|first=Jesse|last=Stensland|date=September 24, 2016|access-date=September 24, 2016}} and worked as a bagger at the Commissary in Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/09/25/after-day-long-manhunt-police-arrest-20-year-old-in-washington-state-mall-killings/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |first1=Amy B. |last1=Wang |first2=Lisa |last2=Rein |first3=Abigail |last3=Hauslohner |quote=In posts on his Facebook page, Cetin described himself as working as a bagger at Whidbey Island Commissary |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160926161658/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/09/25/after-day-long-manhunt-police-arrest-20-year-old-in-washington-state-mall-killings/ |date=September 25, 2016 |archive-date=September 26, 2016 |title=Authorities seeking motive in Washington state mall shooting that killed five |url-status=live }}{{cite news|quote=Acquaintances say Cetin had been working at the commissary at Naval Air Station on Whidbey Island. |date=September 26, 2016 |publisher=KIRO-TV |title=Suspect in Cascade Mall shooting expected to make first court appearance |url=http://www.kiro7.com/news/north-sound-news/suspect-in-cascade-mall-shooting-expected-to-make-first-court-appearance/450490316 |access-date=September 26, 2016 |archive-date=September 26, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160926164307/http://www.kiro7.com/news/north-sound-news/suspect-in-cascade-mall-shooting-expected-to-make-first-court-appearance/450490316 |url-status=live }}

Cetin was arrested without incident on the evening of September 24 while he was walking on Oak Harbor Road at Northeast Seventh Avenue in Oak Harbor, Washington. Two days later, he confessed to the shooting.{{cite web|last=Hersher|first=Rebecca|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/09/26/495513749/accused-washington-state-mall-gunman-confesses-to-killing-5-people|title=Accused Washington State Mall Gunman Reportedly Confesses To Killing 5 People|date=September 26, 2016|work=NPR.org|access-date=September 27, 2016}} Cetin was charged with five counts of aggravated murder. He was being evaluated for mental health concerns.{{cite web |last=Kim |first=Hana |url=http://q13fox.com/2017/01/05/judge-grants-defense-motion-for-mental-evaluation-for-accused-cascade-mall-shooter/ |title=Judge grants defense motion for mental evaluation of accused Cascade Mall shooter |work=Q13 FOX News |date=January 5, 2017 |access-date=January 6, 2017}}

Cetin had prior arrests; he was a defendant in seven cases in Island County District Court from 2013 to 2015 and was arrested in July 2015 on charges of assault in the fourth degree. Cetin was ordered to undergo mental health counseling, which he completed in March 2016. The court also imposed an order for him not to take drugs or drink alcohol. As of August 25, 2016, no breach of the court order against Cetin had been identified.{{cite web|title=Suspect in custody after mall shooting in Burlington, Wash.|url=http://www.kiro7.com/news/north-sound-news/authorities-looking-for-active-shooter-after-reported-shooting-at-cascade-mall/449595663|publisher=KIRO 7|date=September 25, 2016|access-date=September 25, 2016}}

On April 17, 2017, the media reported that Cetin had hanged himself the previous night in the Snohomish County Jail.{{cite web|url=http://www.king5.com/news/crime/cascade-mall-shooting-suspect-dies-jail/431870782|title=Cascade Mall shooting suspect Arcan Cetin dies in jail|last=TEGNA|publisher=}}{{cite web|url=http://www.kiro7.com/news/local/cascade-mall-shooter-dies-in-jail/513337631|title=Cascade Mall shooter Arcan Cetin dies in jail|first=KIRO 7 News|last=Staff|date=17 April 2017|publisher=}}{{cite web|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/crime/article/Prosecutor-Burlington-Mall-shooter-killed-11078376.php|title=Prosecutor: Burlington Mall shooter killed himself in jail|date=17 April 2017|publisher=|access-date=17 April 2017}} An investigation by the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office concluded that Cetin had killed himself.

= Possible motive =

Police have not determined a motive for the shooting. Before Cetin's arrest, authorities stated they had no reason to believe the incident was related to terrorism.{{cite news |title=Washington state attack: Burlington mall fatalities rise to five |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37460461 |work=BBC News |date=September 24, 2016 |access-date=September 24, 2016}}{{cite news |first1=Morgan |last1=Winsor |first2=David |last2=Caplan |title=Manhunt Continues for Gunman in Seattle-Area Mall Shooting That Killed 5 |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/report-active-shooter-mall-burlington-washington/story?id=42321253 |access-date=September 24, 2016 |work=ABC News |date=September 24, 2016}}{{cite news|title=City 'changed forever' as authorities hunt mall gunman |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/police-hunt-gunman-killed-4-080753761.html|access-date=September 24, 2016|publisher=Yahoo! News |agency=Associated Press |date=September 24, 2016}} Cetin told authorities that he was interested in the activities of ISIS, but when asked if the terrorist group had inspired his actions he replied, "I can't answer that."{{cite news |title=City 'changed forever' as authorities hunt mall gunman |url=https://apnews.com/c93596c5db8b4096b36fb611865ca49c |publisher=AP |work=Associated Press |date=September 26, 2016}} On social media, Cetin posted photos of serial killer Ted Bundy and Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.{{cite news|title=Mall shooting suspect: 'Creepy,' multiple arrests, disputes |url=https://apnews.com/c93596c5db8b4096b36fb611865ca49c |access-date=April 17, 2017 |work=AP |agency=Associated Press |date=September 26, 2016}} Cetin had a YouTube channel on which he posted gameplay clips from several video games including Call of Duty: Black Ops II and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, but never expressed intent to commit acts of violence in real life.{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/@xxArcan96xx | title=Arcan Cetin | website=YouTube }}

On September 25, 2016, reports said that Cetin may have been motivated by the break-up of a relationship with a worker from the Macy's store he targeted, but at the time the ex-girlfriend had not worked there in months and lived in another county.{{cite web |last=Solis |first=Steph |date=September 25, 2016 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/09/25/who-is-arcan-cetin-washington-state-cascade-mall-shooting/91075114/ |title=What we know about Arcan Cetin, Washington state mall shooting suspect |work=USA Today |access-date=September 26, 2016}} Authorities alleged that Cetin called out women's names as he killed his victims during the shooting.{{cite web |last=Anderson |first=Rick |date=September 25, 2016 |url=http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-washington-shooting-20160925-snap-story.html |title=A portrait of violence emerges of suspect in the Washington state mall killings |work=The Los Angeles Times |access-date=September 26, 2016}}

= Voting =

Initial reporting had revealed that Cetin had completed the legal steps to become a voter and had voted three times despite apparently not being a United States citizen. According to Washington's Secretary of State Kim Wyman, his voting "shined a light in a hole in the voter registration system" as county auditors were not allowed to check the citizenship of voters; Wyman said she would submit a package to the legislature addressing this.{{cite web |last=KOMO |first=News |date=September 26, 2016 |url=https://komonews.com/news/local/washington-secretary-of-state-to-propose-citizenship-checks-for-voters |title=Mall shooter fallout: Secretary of state to propose citizenship checks for voters |work=KOMO News |access-date=March 5, 2021}} It was later determined that Cetin was a naturalized US citizen and therefore permitted to vote.