BURLINGTON, Wash. — A man carrying a rifle entered a Macy’s store at a mall in Washington state, shot dead four women and a man, and vanished into the night, police said.
Authorities believe only one person fired the shots Friday night at Cascade Mall in Burlington, about an hour north of Seattle.
underway for an armed man who headed toward Interstate 5 after the attack, said Sgt. Mark Francis, a spokesman for the Washington State Patrol.
Francis released a blurry surveillance photo of a man described as the suspect. His motive or relationship to the victims, if any, are unclear, he said.
The names of the victims were not immediately released.
Moviegoers asked to leave
Witnesses described chaotic scenes and confusion when the shooting started about 7 p.m. local time
Brandi Montreuil told CNN she was watching a movie at the mall when attendants suddenly told them to leave.
“I didn’t know anything,” she said. “The theater attendant came in and apologized for stopping the movie and said they were asked to have everyone leave immediately.”
At first she thought it was a drill.
“But you immediately think about what happened in Aurora, Colorado, so you start moving faster,” she said, referring to the 2012 shooting at a movie theater that left 12 dead.
When they got outside, they saw police vehicles but no officers in sight, Montreuil said.
“We didn’t know if it was a fire so we were looking for smoke of some kind. Then a few officers started canvassing through the crowds, asking if anybody saw anything.”
An officer “with a large gun started yelling for people to leave and fast,” she said.
