SEATTLE_Three people were fatally shot and two people were injured in the Cascade Mall in Burlington, Skagit County, Friday evening and the shooter remained at large, according to the Washington State Patrol.
One male was in critical condition and taken to Harborview Medical Center and a fifth person has non-life-threatening injuries. The number of additional injuries was unclear.
The decreased are all females, Washington State Patrol Sgt. Mark Francis said.
Law enforcement previously said four people were fatally shot. Shortly before 10 p.m., the number of fatalities was downgraded to three.
Francis said the suspected shooter, a man, was last seen walking toward Interstate 5 from Cascade Mall. A search at the mall and surrounding area was underway.
Emergency medics entered the mall escorted by police, Francis reported. Some people were still possibly holed up in the mall.
The four people were fatally shot in the Macy's store, the State Patrol said.
"Shooter(s) left scene b4 police arrived," he said in the tweet shortly after 8 p.m. "Unknown # of shooter, possibly just 1, police clearing mall now."
The trooper provided no other details on the man, other than that he is Latino and wearing a black shirt. Police released a security footage photo of the man shortly after 9 p.m.
Around 9:20 p.m., police were swarming an area directly across I-5 from the mall. Police were telling people to "get out of here immediately, you're not safe here."
Residents in the area were being told to stay inside and call 911 if they see anything suspicious.
One person was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition, spokeswoman Susan Gregg said around 9:30 p.m. The hospital didn't anticipate any additional arrivals.
People who were inside the mall were being taken to His Place Community Church near the mall, Francis said.
Skagit County Department of Emergency Management urged people to avoid the mall area. State transportation officials asked drivers to avoid the freeway near Highway 20, as well.
Heading to Seattle on the freeway, Ben Hagood was driving through the area around 7:40 p.m. and said he saw dozens of police vehicles, including just 15 and 20 near a storefront at the mall alone.
Burlington-Edison's football game against Lakewood at Burlington-Edison High School was postponed, according to media reports.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee released the following statement:
"Tragedy has struck in Washington tonight," he said in a statement. "Our hearts are in Burlington where a shooter has taken the lives of at least four people."
The shooting marks Washington's sixth mass shooting with at least four people who were fatally shot or wounded this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. In the most recent shooting, people were shot to death at a house party in Mukilteo in July.
The nonpartisan organization, based in Washington, D.C., tracks and verifies incidents around the country, defining "mass shootings" as any single incident in which four or more people are fatally shot or wounded, not including the shooter.
.jpg?w=600)
