Overview

Arcan Cetin was an American permanent resident of Turkish origin accused of murdering five people at the Cascade Mall in Burlington, Washington, on September 23, 2016.Christopher Mele and Niraj Chokshi, “Man, 20, in Custody After Fatal Shooting of 5 People in Mall Outside Seattle,” New York Times, September 24, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/25/us/mall-shooting-washington-state.html?_r=0. Cetin killed all five victims within one minute at the Macy’s department store.Christopher Mele and Niraj Chokshi, “Man, 20, in Custody After Fatal Shooting of 5 People in Mall Outside Seattle,” New York Times, September 24, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/25/us/mall-shooting-washington-state.html?_r=0;
Vernal Coleman and Sara Jean Green, “Man charged in Cascade Mall shooting was getting court-ordered mental health treatment,” Seattle Times, September 26, 2016, http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/suspected-cascade-mall-gunman-charged-with-5-counts-of-premeditated-murder/;
Jody Allard, M. L. Lyke, and Amy B. Wang, “Washington mall suspect confesses to killings,” Washington Post, September 26, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/09/25/after-day-long-manhunt-police-arrest-20-year-old-in-washington-state-mall-killings/?utm_term=.e7fe9aa743ac. According to reports, Cetin had previously maintained a blog featuring photos of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei.“Mall shooting suspect had blog with picture of ISIS leader,” Fox News, September 26, 2016, http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/09/26/mall-shooting-suspect-had-blog-with-picture-isis-leader.html?utm_content=buffer8ace2&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer.

Cetin was arrested near his apartment in Oak Harbor at 6:30 p.m. the day after the shooting, and reportedly confessed the crimes to detectives.Vernal Coleman and Sara Jean Green, “Man charged in Cascade Mall shooting was getting court-ordered mental health treatment,” Seattle Times, September 26, 2016, http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/suspected-cascade-mall-gunman-charged-with-5-counts-of-premeditated-murder/. Cetin was charged with five counts of premeditated murder.Vernal Coleman and Sara Jean Green, “Man charged in Cascade Mall shooting was getting court-ordered mental health treatment,” Seattle Times, September 26, 2016, http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/suspected-cascade-mall-gunman-charged-with-5-counts-of-premeditated-murder/. On April 16, 2017, Cetin was found dead in his prison cell at Snohomish County Jail after apparently committing suicide by hanging.Sara Jean Green, “Arcan Cetin, man accused of killing 5 in Cascade Mall shooting, dies in jail,” Seattle Times, April 17, 2017, http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/accused-cascade-mall-shooter-dies-in-snohomish-county-jail/.

In 2014 and 2015, Cetin faced three charges of assault against his stepfather and was banned from owning a firearm.Vernal Coleman and Sara Jean Green, “Man charged in Cascade Mall shooting was getting court-ordered mental health treatment,” Seattle Times, September 26, 2016, http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/suspected-cascade-mall-gunman-charged-with-5-counts-of-premeditated-murder/. He was also arrested for drunk driving in 2015.Jody Allard, M. L. Lyke, and Amy B. Wang, “Washington mall suspect confesses to killings,” Washington Post, September 26, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/09/25/after-day-long-manhunt-police-arrest-20-year-old-in-washington-state-mall-killings/?utm_term=.e7fe9aa743ac. That year, a Washington State mental health facility sought to have Cetin involuntarily committed to its institution. Cetin was previously diagnosed or suspected of having 13 different disorders, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, autism, fetal alcohol syndrome, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.Vernal Coleman and Sara Jean Green, “Man charged in Cascade Mall shooting was getting court-ordered mental health treatment,” Seattle Times, September 26, 2016, http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/suspected-cascade-mall-gunman-charged-with-5-counts-of-premeditated-murder/;
Jessie Stensland, “Records show Cascade Mall shooting suspect’s tormented past,” Herald (Everett, WA), October 4, 2016, http://www.heraldnet.com/news/cascade-mall-shooting-suspect-struggled-with-mental-health/. Former schoolmates described Arcan’s proclivity for inappropriately touching girls, vulgar comments, and social awkwardness.Jody Allard, M. L. Lyke, and Amy B. Wang, “Washington mall suspect confesses to killings,” Washington Post, September 26, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/09/25/after-day-long-manhunt-police-arrest-20-year-old-in-washington-state-mall-killings/?utm_term=.e7fe9aa743ac;
Vernal Coleman and Sara Jean Green, “Man charged in Cascade Mall shooting was getting court-ordered mental health treatment,” Seattle Times, September 26, 2016, http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/suspected-cascade-mall-gunman-charged-with-5-counts-of-premeditated-murder/. Cetin came to the United States from Turkey when he was six years old.Vernal Coleman and Sara Jean Green, “Man charged in Cascade Mall shooting was getting court-ordered mental health treatment,” Seattle Times, September 26, 2016, http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/suspected-cascade-mall-gunman-charged-with-5-counts-of-premeditated-murder/.