Arcan Cetin, Suspected Of Killing 5 At Cascade Mall, Dies In Prison

SNOHOMISH COUNTY, WA - The man suspected of killing five people at the Cascade Mall in Burlington in September has died in jail. Arcan Cetin, 20, was found hanging in his cell at the Snohomish County jail, according to KING 5. Cetin was facing aggravated first-degree murder charges, which meant that he was facing the possibility of being sentenced to death.

Skagit County Prosecutor Rich Weyrich said that the county will now drop case.

"From our perspective, (Cetin) did not let justice take its course," Weyrich told the Skagit Valley Herald.

The Cascade Mall shooting happened around 7 p.m. on Sept. 23, a Friday. Cetin allegedly entered the mall through a Chuck E. Cheese, and then opened fire inside the Macy's department store with a .22-caliber rifle. He had apparently stolen the gun from his father. The people who died included: Beatrice Dotson, 95, of Kingsport; Shayla Martin, 52, of Mount Vernon; Chuck Eagan, 61, of Lake Stevens; Sarai Lara, 16, of Mount Vernon; and Belinda Galde, 64, of Arlington.

Cetin fled the mall after the shooting, but was captured about 24 hours later in Oak Harbor, where he lived. At the time of his arrest, he was described as "zombie-like."

Cetin was scheduled to appear in court on April 27 for a competency evaluation; that hearing could have determined whether he would be transferred to Western State Hospital in Lakewood. Cetin's attorneys had requested he be held in the Snohomish County Jail during the competency evaluation, according to the Skagit Valley Herald.

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