Arcan Cetin



Arcan Cetin (August 20, 1996 – April 16, 2017) was responsible for a mass shooting at Cascade Mall in Burlington, Washington on September 23, 2016, resulting in the death of 5 people.

Originally from Turkey, he immigrated to the United States as a child after his mother married a U.S. citizen. Authorities initially identified him as a "permanent resident" until further investigation found that he was a naturalized American citizen. He graduated from Oak Harbor High School in 2015 and worked as a bagger at the Commissary in Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.

Cetin was arrested without incident on the evening of September 24 while he was walking on Oak Harbor Road at Northeast Seventh Avenue in Oak Harbor, Washington. Two days later, he confessed to the shooting. Cetin was charged with five counts of aggravated murder. He was being evaluated for mental health concerns.

Cetin had prior arrests; he was a defendant in seven cases in Island County District Court from 2013 to 2015 and was arrested in July 2015 on charges of assault in the fourth degree. Cetin was ordered to undergo mental health counseling, which he completed in March 2016. The court also imposed an order for him not to take drugs or drink alcohol. As of August 25, 2016, no breach of the court order against Cetin had been identified.

On April 17, 2017, the media reported that Cetin had hanged himself the previous night in the Snohomish County Jail. An investigation by the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office concluded that Cetin had committed suicide.

Police have not determined a motive for the shooting. Before Cetin's arrest, authorities stated they had no reason to believe the incident was related to terrorism. Cetin told authorities that he was interested in the activities of ISIS, but when asked if the terrorist group had inspired his actions he replied, "I can't answer that." On social media, Cetin posted photos of serial killer Ted Bundy and Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

On September 25, 2016, reports said that Cetin may have been motivated by the break-up of a relationship with a worker from the Macy's store he targeted, but at the time the ex-girlfriend had not worked there in months and lived in another county. Authorities alleged that Cetin called out women's names as he killed his victims during the shooting.