Police confirm man tried to buy gun before mall shooting
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Detectives have confirmed that the man accused of shooting and killing five people in a mall north of Seattle tried unsuccessfully to buy a handgun just hours before the slayings.
Washington State Patrol Sgt. Mark Francis says members of the Skagit County Multi-Agency Response Team identified 20-year-old Arcan Cetin Wednesday as the man on surveillance video footage recorded by the gun store.
Authorities say shortly after his visit to the gun shop on Sept. 23, Cetin used a .22-caliber Ruger rifle to open fire at a department store cosmetic counter at the Cascade Mall in Burlington.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Cetin's stepfather has told detectives that his Ruger rifle and ammunition were missing.
Cetin was arrested the following day about 30 miles from the mall near his apartment. He has been charged with five counts of premediated murder.