More details emerge on the Washington mall shooter, motive still unknown

Arcan Cetin, a 20-year-old man has been identified as the active shooter responsible for killing five people at a Macy’s in Burlington, Washington mall.  Based on the surveillance footage, the active shooter was initially identified as a possible Hispanic male, however, he was born in Turkey and immigrated with his family when he was a child. He has been arrested and charged with five counts of murder.

Mount Vernon Police Lt. Chris Cammock said Cetin had immigrated to the U.S. from Turkey and was a “legal permanent resident.” It was not immediately clear when Cetin came to the U.S. – Fox News

According to multiple classmates, he had a difficult time making friends and he often had inappropriate and vulgar behavior.

Austin Hendrix, 19, who now lives in Seattle, graduated from Oak Harbor High School with Cetin in 2015. He described Cetin as being “that kid who wasn’t afraid to say something offensive or vulgar.

“In high school he started harassing kids and not being a nice person, so I disassociated with him,” Hendrix said. “He would grope women in high school and middle school.”

The New York Times quoted former classmate Uhlaine Finnigan, 19, of Port Angeles, Wash, who called Cetin “sexist” and said he would touch girls on their buttocks, “either slapping or grabbing them.”

Dakota Powers, another 2015 Oak Harbor graduate, described him as “a bit isolated during the high-school years,” and in conversations he regularly talked about girls and rejection.

Powers said Cetin participated in a junior Reserve Officers Training Corps program and was interested in the military, but didn’t like the power structure or taking orders.”- Seattle Times

Cetin also had assaulted his step-father on several occasions which required the police to be called. Due to the assaults, a judge told him he could no longer possess firearms.

Skagit County court records show Cetin has a criminal record that included three domestic-violence assault charges in both Burlington and Island County, with the victim identified as Cetin’s stepfather.

It’s clear from the court docket that Cetin was struggling with emotional or mental health issues, and that the court, prosecutors office and defense team were trying to get him help.

Island County District Court records show that Cetin was told by a judge on Dec. 29 that he was not to possess a firearm.”- Seattle Times

This article is trying to paint him as a young man that was simply fixated with guns and serial killers. While other articles are trying to link him to ISIS.

A Tumblr page in his name contains references to the phrase “Subhan Allah,” which means Glory be to God, as well as comments about serial killers. It links to a page that praises the ISIS leader.- Heavy

Reportedly his ex- girlfriend that recently broke up with him previously worked at that Macy’s (but was not present during the shooting).

Washington State Patrol Sgt. Mark Francis told the media that he couldn’t comment on reports that the gunman had called out a woman’s name before opening fire, according to Q13 Fox. The gunman was armed with what appeared to be a hunting rifle. KING 5 reports that Cetin’s ex-girlfriend previously worked at the mall.”- Heavy

The police have not determined a motive as of yet. This is all speculation of course, but it appears he entered into the Macy’s with the initial intent for a mass murder to include his ex-girlfirend (based on the location). He entered the mall twice, once unarmed and the second time 10 minutes later with a rifle. What if his motive was driven by the break up and everything else that we have learned about him set up the conditions for him to fulfill his plan? Familiar with guns, socially awkward, vulgar towards women, history of violence (assaulting his step father), fascination with serial killers, and possibly exposed to radical Islam. The only statement from his family, which supports mental instability, was made outside of the courthouse after their son was charged with 5 counts of premeditated murder. There are so many possibilities for motive in the case so it will be interesting to see what else investigators can uncover.

Featured image courtesy of Zue