Four fatally shot at mall in Burlington, Washington

BURLINGTON, Wash. – Five people were shot – four fatally – Friday night in the Cascade Mall in Burlington, and officers fanned out searching for the shooter, according to the Washington State Patrol.

The four dead are all female, State Patrol Sgt. Mark Francis said.

One man in critical condition was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. It isn’t clear if there were any other victims.

The casualty count fluctuated through the evening. Law enforcement officers first said four people were fatally shot, then lowered the toll to three before raising it again.

Francis said the suspected shooter, a man, was last seen walking toward Interstate 5 from Cascade Mall. A search at the mall and surrounding area was underway.

Emergency medics entered the mall escorted by police, Francis reported. Some people were still possibly holed up in the mall.

The victims were fatally shot in the Macy’s store, the State Patrol said.

“Shooter(s) left scene b4 police arrived,” Francis said in the tweet shortly after 8 p.m. “Unknown # of shooter, possibly just 1, police clearing mall now.”

The trooper provided no other details on the man, other than that he is Latino and was wearing a black shirt. Police released a security footage photo of the man shortly after 9 p.m.

Around 9:20 p.m., police were swarming an area directly across I-5 from the mall. Police were telling people to “get out of here immediately, you’re not safe here.”

Residents in the area were being told to stay inside and call 911 if they saw anything suspicious.

One person was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition, spokeswoman Susan Gregg said around 9:30 p.m. The hospital didn’t anticipate any additional arrivals.

People who were inside the mall were being taken to His Place Community Church near the mall, Francis said.

Skagit County Department of Emergency Management urged people to avoid the area. State transportation officials asked drivers to avoid the freeway near Highway 20, as well.

Heading to Seattle on the freeway, Ben Hagood was driving through the area around 7:40 p.m. and said he saw dozens of police vehicles, including 15 to 20 near a storefront at the mall alone.

Burlington-Edison’s football game against Lakewood at Burlington-Edison High School was postponed, according to media reports.

“Tragedy has struck in Washington tonight,” Gov. Jay Inslee said in a statement. “Our hearts are in Burlington where a shooter has taken the lives of at least four people.”

The shooting marks Washington’s sixth mass shooting with at least four people who were fatally shot or wounded this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. In the most recent shooting, three people were shot to death at a house party in Mukilteo in July.

The nonpartisan organization, based in Washington, D.C., tracks and verifies incidents around the country, defining “mass shootings” as any single incident in which four or more people are fatally shot or wounded, not including the shooter.