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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Cascade Mall shooting suspect to appear in court Jan. 6

In this Sept. 26 file photo, Arcan Cetin is escorted into Skagit County District Court by Skagit County's Sheriff's Deputies in Mt. Vernon, Wash. (Brandy Shreve / Skagit Valley Herald)
By Marilyn Napier Skagit Valley Herald (Mount Vernon, Wash.)

MOUNT VERNON – The man accused of killing five people in a shooting Sept. 23 at Cascade Mall in Burlington is set to be back in court Jan. 6.

Arcan Cetin, 20, of Oak Harbor last appeared in court Oct. 21 when a judge granted prosecutors a warrant extension to officially charge Cetin in the shooting at the Macy’s store that left three women, one man and one teenage girl dead.

In September, charges were filed against Cetin in Skagit County District Court for five counts of first-degree premeditated murder. However, for the case to move forward, the charges must be filed in Skagit County Superior Court.

Jan. 6 is the last day for prosecutors to file charges.

Prosecutors requested the extra time to file charges in Superior Court to allow police more time to investigate.

Mount Vernon police Lt. Chris Cammock, who is part of the Skagit Multi Agency Response Team that is handling the investigation, said detectives are still working on the case.

Detectives plan on conducting more interviews in the Oak Harbor community where Cetin is from, Cammock said.

“(Prosecutors) may move forward while we are still doing detailed follow-up (on the investigation),” he said. “The work is not done.”

Hundreds of people have been interviewed during the course of the investigation, Skagit County Prosecuting Attorney Rich Weyrich said.

According to the arrest warrant filed in District Court, Cetin admitted to detectives it was him in the surveillance video from inside the mall the night of the shooting, and that he brought the rifle into Macy’s and shot all five victims.

Documents released by the Skagit County Prosecutor’s Office because of a public records request revealed Cetin told detectives he had no motive for the shooting and that the victims were selected at random.

Cetin is being held on $2 million bail at Skagit County Jail.