Shooting at Burlington Mall in WA - 4 dead

[Sgt Nambu]

Blessings on the victims and their poor family's!

 

[Ura-Ki]

I was just thinking that the crappy picture dosn't look Hispanic, he looks................Middle eastern! Damn!!! Hopes and prayers to those of those shot and to the families!
Stay safe brothers and sisters, and stay away from large public spaces!

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

Visiting Seattle next week and was debating between my single stack pocket 9 or my full size Beretta. Debate ended.

 

[rdb241]

I'm sorry for the victims families. As a former Seattle resident, this hits hard. This is as close to home as we get guys. Keep your powder dry and a watchful eye.

And plenty of NWFA members are WA residents, let's remember that.

Well let's take a minute to get some facts straight. Burlington is no where near Seattle. It is an hour drive north. It certainly can get a lot closer. I was in the Sears store at the Tacoma Mall back in the 2000's when Moldenado walked in the Mall with a loaded AK47. Just last month I was less than a block away from a shooting in Federal Way in broad daylight at 2:00 in the afternoon. So I am not sure what you would consider close to home. You being in Oregon you could have said that the shootings in LA hit close to home? It is real and you never know when something might happen. So yes I agree to ALWAYS be aware of your surroundings and in the back of your head always be thinking the worst case scenario. When you go to eat somewhere, sit against the wall so your back is covered.

 

[rdb241]

Yup, malls are turning in to kill zones. Very, very sad.

Brutus Out

They have been targets for 20 years now.

 

[Captain O]

How sad.

 

[206thsense]

Mall = gun free zone. Which we all know helps NO ONE.

Hope they catch this guy soon. Probably won't stop the mainstream media from pushing more gun control, though.

 

[Pops1911]

Ugh. Sucks for everyone concerned.

 

[Sstrand]

Very Interesting . . . I am just now designing a scenario for an upcoming Defensive Pistol match. I'm sure there will be elements in this event that I can include.

Sheldon

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Damn., Just found out about this.
My Thoughts and prayers go to the families.
This mall isn't too far from me, its a popular spot for shopping and movies goers.
Andy

 

[rdb241]

He is still on the loose Andy. Be alert and watch your back. Lock your doors and keep the handgun close.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Will do and have done .... Thanks.
Andy

 

[BlackRyder]

It's impossible to tell the guys ethnicity from the crappy security cam footage.. He could be philippino or Native American for all we know- let's not jump to any conclusions yet. You know how all those brown people look the same... (It's ok, I can say that since I'm half brown person)

 

[WA101]

Here's what we know based on officially released information.

Bad guy enters Cascade Mall in Burlington, WA around 7pm not looking like a bad guy and without a visible weapon.




Bad guy reenters mall 10-minutes later carrying a rifle.






Bad guy leaves the rifle on the counter in Macy's after killing 5-people, and leaves the mall walking toward I-5. Bad guy has not been seen since, and police don't seem to have an ID.

My thoughts:

1. This bad guy had a plan! This was not intended to be a mass shooting that ended in the bad guy getting killed by the police. The bad guy had an entry and exit plan. I also have to assume that this bad guy had a well thought out plan since he has evaded capture and the police do not have an ID even though he left the murder weapon behind and was captured on surveillance cameras.
2. The bad guy appears to have initially entered the mall unarmed (at least he didn't have a rifle) to surveille his target, and then left to retrieve a rifle that was stashed nearby.
3. We don't know if the bad guy was targeting a specific individual and any potential witnesses or if all his targets were random. Regardless, this guy did not stay long enough for the police to interdict.
4. The bad guy leaves the murder weapon on the counter? That's smart if you want to slip out of the Mall with everyone else fleeing and not appear to be the bad guy. Considering that the bad guy got in and out without getting shot, or positively ID'd, I'm guessing the bad guy knows that the weapon isn't traceable to him, and that he does not have fingerprints on record. We would have an ID on the bad guy by now if the bad guy's weapon or fingerprints were traceable.
4. The only thing between the Mall and I-5 is a parking lot. Was there an accomplice driving a getaway vehicle? The only way the bad guy was going to get away on foot in the direction he was last seen walking was to cross I-5, and that would be really hard to do on foot without being witnessed.
5. Burlington is a small town. It seems highly likely that someone would recognize bad guy if he was local. Thus, I would not assume that the bad guy was local.
6. The police do not know the bad guy's ethnic background and clearly stated this fact at the news conference this morning. Only the news media has been saying the guy was Hispanic. The police simply said the bad guy had mildly dark skin and dark hair.
7. The proximity of the Cascade Mall to I-5 and the fact that it is located in a small town makes it a good target if your plan is to attack unarmed people and get away.

All things considered, the bad guy could be anywhere right now. Given the level of planning that appears to have gone into this attack, I'm not going to assume that the Burlington Mall is the only target on this bad guy's attack list. I'm also not going to assume that the bad guy did not have an accomplice.

 

[Howard1955]

More pictures of the shooter. Too blurry to tell much about him. Arabic?

 

[Captain O]

Either that, or Hispanic. He's a typical ne'er-do-well though. The typical "hipster" (perpetually casual dress) is an indicator of his mental/emotional demeanor.

 

[BlackRyder]

Here's what we know based on officially released information.

Bad guy enters Cascade Mall in Burlington, WA around 7pm not looking like a bad guy and without a visible weapon.

View attachment 313790


Bad guy reenters mall 10-minutes later carrying a rifle.
View attachment 313791


View attachment 313792


Bad guy leaves the rifle on the counter in Macy's after killing 5-people, and leaves the mall walking toward I-5. Bad guy has not been seen since, and police don't seem to have an ID.

My thoughts:

1. This bad guy had a plan! This was not intended to be a mass shooting that ended in the bad guy getting killed by the police. The bad guy had an entry and exit plan. I also have to assume that this bad guy had a well thought out plan since he has evaded capture and the police do not have an ID even though he left the murder weapon behind and was captured on surveillance cameras.
2. The bad guy appears to have initially entered the mall unarmed (at least he didn't have a rifle) to surveille his target, and then left to retrieve a rifle that was stashed nearby.
3. We don't know if the bad guy was targeting a specific individual and any potential witnesses or if all his targets were random. Regardless, this guy did not stay long enough for the police to interdict.
4. The bad guy leaves the murder weapon on the counter? That's smart if you want to slip out of the Mall with everyone else fleeing and not appear to be the bad guy. Considering that the bad guy got in and out without getting shot, or positively ID'd, I'm guessing the bad guy knows that the weapon isn't traceable to him, and that he does not have fingerprints on record. We would have an ID on the bad guy by now if the bad guy's weapon or fingerprints were traceable.
4. The only thing between the Mall and I-5 is a parking lot. Was there an accomplice driving a getaway vehicle? The only way the bad guy was going to get away on foot in the direction he was last seen walking was to cross I-5, and that would be really hard to do on foot without being witnessed.
5. Burlington is a small town. It seems highly likely that someone would recognize bad guy if he was local. Thus, I would not assume that the bad guy was local.
6. The police do not know the bad guy's ethnic background and clearly stated this fact at the news conference this morning. Only the news media has been saying the guy was Hispanic. The police simply said the bad guy had mildly dark skin and dark hair.
7. The proximity of the Cascade Mall to I-5 and the fact that it is located in a small town makes it a good target if your plan is to attack unarmed people and get away.

All things considered, the bad guy could be anywhere right now. Given the level of planning that appears to have gone into this attack, I'm not going to assume that the Burlington Mall is the only target on this bad guy's attack list. I'm also not going to assume that the bad guy did not have an accomplice.

All very good points you made. I'm surprised that no identification has been made yet, in this day and age of near constant data mining and surveillance you'd think that they would be able to id the bad guy by now. Which leads me to think that this wasn't random, and very well thought out beforehand.
I was in this mall about 3 hrs prior to the shooting. I can say that will be the last time I leave my pistol in the car (im not yet at a point where I feel confident in my abilities to carry in public, but after this, I'm going to focus on getting there asap- as is my wife).

 

[HuckFin]

A witness to the shooting told channel 5 news last night that the rifle left on the counter by the shooter was a 22.

 

[Koda]

Considering that the bad guy got in and out without getting shot, or positively ID'd, I'm guessing the bad guy knows that the weapon isn't traceable to him, and that he does not have fingerprints on record. We would have an ID on the bad guy by now if the bad guy's weapon or fingerprints were traceable.

this is impossible, Washington has a universal background check law. There is no way a bad guy can acquire a firearm without a BGC.

 

[Bushman]

Looks more mid eastern than hispanic in some stills, but more hispanic than mid eastern in others. Sure would be nice to see the video, it would be easier to tell for sure.

The fact that this guy surveilled, hit, left the weapon indicates prior planning or experience. Only a matter of time before they get him. Sounds like someone specific was targeted though. More likely a love triangle of sorts or gang related.