BURLINGTON, Wash., Sept. 24, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — Police in Washington state have taken 20-year-old Arcan Cetin into custody, and named him as their suspect in Friday’s fatal shooting of five people in a Macy’s store at a Seattle-area shopping mall.
Officials at a press conference Saturday night said they were assisted by a number of tips from the public, and identified Cetin as a strong suspect after interviewing his associates and family members.
In addition, a search for surveillance footage at businesses near the Burlington shopping mall later revealed a man who strongly resembled the mall shooter, who was caught on camera in the Macy’s store where the shootings occurred.
The business footage showed the suspect entering a car, which was then traced back to Cetin.
The car caught in the surveillance footage was later spotted, empty, in Oak Harbor, home to Cetin, who is a legal immigrant from Turkey. An officer saw a man who looked like the one caught on Macy’s surveillance walk toward the car, and stopped Cetin, who was then arrested.
“There were up to 27 different agencies involved in this case, and we made the arrest in Oak Harbor,” said Lt. Chris Cammock, Mt. Vernon Police Department.
“At about 6:30 tonight (Pacific Time), we arrested a 20-year-old Oak Harbor man in this case.”
Lt. Mike Hawley, Island County Sheriff’s Office, was on the scene.
“He said nothing,” Hawley said. “Kind of zombie like is best could describe him.”
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee offered his condolences to the families of the victims and to the city of Burlington.
“I can say our entire state is united,” Inslee said. “I can say all of our hearts are in Burlington tonight.”
