The Latest – Burlington Shooting: Mall shooting suspect in custody

BURLINGTON, Wash. – The Latest on a fatal shooting at a mall in Washington state (all times local):

7:31 p.m.

Authorities say the suspect in a deadly shooting at a Washington state mall shooting is in custody.

The Skagit County Department of Emergency Management said via Twitter Saturday evening that the suspect had been captured. No other details were immediately available. A news conference was set for Saturday night.

A gunman opened fire at the Cascade Mall in Burlington, Washington, Friday night, killing four females and a male before fleeing. Law enforcement staged a massive search over more than 20 hours for the suspect, initially described by witnesses as a young Hispanic male wearing black.

Authorities had said that a rifle had been found at the scene.

The motive was unknown for the shooting about 60 milesnorth of Seattle. The FBI was assisting local authorities, but it said there was no evidence to point to terrorism.

2:50 p.m.

Relatives and friends of victims in a deadly mall shooting in Washington state have gathered at a church.

Red Cross counselors and a golden retriever therapy dog were on hand Saturday at His Place Community Church in Burlington, Washington.

Authorities say a gunman opened fire at Cascade Mall Friday night, killing four females and a male.

No identities have been released yet and a search for the gunman continued.

2:10 p.m.

Noel Cuevas says he was eating dinner with his family at a Washington state mall when a gunman opened fire, killing five people.

He said Saturday that he saw people running and a woman told them to evacuate. He described a chaotic scene Friday night as people ran and businesses shut their doors.

Cuevas grabbed his 5-year-old daughter and ran with his wife outside and across the street.

He said everyone was terrified.

The 39-year-old Cuevas later returned to Cascade Mall in Burlington, Washington, to retrieve his truck parked near a cordoned off area.

He said he went home Friday and made sure his doors were locked because the gunman remained on the loose.

11:22 a.m.

A woman who was inside a Washington state mall when a gunman opened fire – fatally shooting five – says she’s “thankful for my life this morning.”

Nineteen-year-old Joanne Burkholder was watching the movie “The Magnificent Seven” in a theater at the Cascade Mall on Friday night when police and security came in and told them they needed to evacuate.

She said she heard screaming as they were escorted out into the parking lot in Burlington.

She said: “I’ve never been so terrified in my life.”

Authorities say a gunman who killed four females and a male in the Macy’s store at the mall was still on the loose Saturday.

10:30 a.m.

Worried residents fear for their safety as authorities search for a gunman who killed five people at a mall in Washington state.

Maria Elena Vasquez of Burlington attended a community gathering Saturday following the Friday evening slayings at the city’s Cascade Mall. She said “it’s nerve-wracking” and she’s nervous about taking her 7-year-old daughter to her soccer game.

Police said early Saturday they didn’t know the gunman’s identity and urged the community for help in identifying him.

Burlington is a city of about 8,000 people about 60 miles north of Seattle.

9:21 a.m.

Authorities say a gunman who fatally shot five people at a Washington state mall initially entered the shopping center without a weapon, but 10 minutes later, went inside Macy’s with a rifle and opened fire.

Mount Vernon Police Lt. Chris Cammock said Saturday that authorities recovered the weapon from the scene. He described it as a “hunting type” rifle.

Cammock says officers are reconstructing the entire scene at the Cascade Mall in Burlington, scanning for evidence.

More than 200 officers from more than two dozen agencies responded to the mall following the shooting Friday evening. Four females and a male were fatally shot.

The gunman remained at large.

8:36 a.m.

A gunman who fatally shot five people at a Washington state mall remained at large as authorities said the motive for the slaying was unknown but there was no indication the shootings were a terrorist act.

Four females and one male were slain at Cascade Mall on Friday evening in Burlington, Washington.

At a news conference Saturday morning, Mount Vernon Police Lt. Chris Cammock said the female victims’ ages ranged from teens to seniors. There was no information on the age of the male victim. No identifications have been released. Authorities did not know the name of the suspect – described as a young Hispanic male – and appealed to the community for help.

Michael Knutson, assistant special agent in charge of the Seattle FBI, said at the news conference there was no evidence to point to terrorism.

4:07 a.m.

Authorities say a fifth person has died following a shooting at a shopping mall north of Seattle.

A spokesman for the Skagit County Emergency Operations Center says the unidentified male victim died early Saturday at a Seattle hospital. Four female victims died earlier following the Friday night shooting at the Cascade Mall in Burlington, Washington.

Authorities continue to search for the shooter.

A Washington State Patrol spokesman says police were seeking a Hispanic man wearing black and armed with a “hunting-type” rifle last seen walking toward Interstate 5.

Authorities say the motive was unknown for the shooting about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of Seattle.