Police identified the gunman as 20-year-old Arcan Cetrin, a resident of Oak Harbor, which is located about 28 miles southwest of the Cascade Mall in Burlington, where the shooting happened on Friday night.
Cetrin entered the mall and opened fire at a make-up counter, killing four women instantly. A fifth victim, who was airlifted away from the mall, later died of his gunshot wounds, police said.
Arcan Cetrin
Police staged a massive manhunt for the suspect that took over 20 hours. Witnesses had initially described the suspect as a young Hispanic man wearing black.
Surveillance video captured the suspect entering the mall unarmed and then recorded him about 10 minutes later going into the Macy's department store with a rifle in his hand, police said.
"There are people waking up this morning, and their world has changed forever. The city of Burlington has probably changed forever, but I don't think our way of life needs to change," Burlington Mayor Steve Sexton said at a news conference Saturday night.
"This was a senseless act. It was the world knocking on our doorstep, and it came into our little community," he added.
The identities of the victims — ranging in age from teens to seniors — were not released pending autopsies and notification of family.
Police said they believe Cetrin acted alone and the FBI said terrorism was not suspected in the incident.
The shooting came less than a week after a man stabbed nine people at a mall in central Minnesota before being shot dead. The FBI is investigating that attack as a potential act of terrorism, Press TV reported.
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