Washington state police said at least four people were killed in a shooting on Friday outside the Cascade Mall in Burlington, about 65 miles north of Seattle. At least one suspect remains at large.
According to Sgt. Mark Francis, it was not immediately clear whether more than one gunman was involved. Police were searching for a “Hispanic male wearing grey. Last seen walking towards I5 from Cascade Mall burlington,” Francis, a public information officer for the district, said on Twitter.
The shooter left the scene before police arrived, Francis said, and by 8:30 pm local time the mall was evacuated. Survivors were transported by bus to a nearby church.
Update: In addition to the four people killed in the cosmetics section of Macy’s in the Cascade Mall, a fifth was pronounced dead after succumbing to injuries at the hospital, the New York Times reports.
The gunman remains on the loose:
The gunman, who was believed to have been armed with a rifle, left before the police arrived, and the mall was evacuated after the 7:45 p.m. shooting, Sergeant Francis said. He described the suspect as a Hispanic man wearing gray.
The authorities believe there was only one gunman, but it was unclear whether he had help, Sergeant Francis said at about midnight in a briefing outside the mall. He said the gunman had last been seen walking toward Interstate 5.