Police arrest Arcan Cetin as suspect in Washington mall shooting.

Motive in Washington Mall Shooting Still a Mystery After Arrest of “Zombie-Like” Suspect

Motive in Washington Mall Shooting Still a Mystery After Arrest of “Zombie-Like” Suspect

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Sept. 25 2016 10:22 AM

Motive in Washington Mall Shooting Still a Mystery After Arrest of “Zombie-Like” Suspect

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Arcan Cetin, 20, of Oak Harbor is seen in a Washington State Department of Licensing photo released by the Washington State Patrol after they announced his arrest on September 24, 2016.

Washington State Patrol/Handout via Reuters.

Almost 24 hours after a gunman opened fire at the makeup counter of a Macy’s in Burlington, Washington, police arrested a 20-year-old suspect. Police detained Arcan Cetin, 20, as he walked along a street in Oak Harbor, around 30 miles from where the shooting had taken place a day earlier. While Cetin was charged with five counts of first degree murder, the motive remains far from clear. The FBI said that while there was no evidence the shootings were related to terrorism, it could not be ruled out just yet. When asked about whether terrorism was a possibility another law enforcement official said that it was “just too early to tell.”

Cetin, an immigrant from Turkey who is a legal permanent resident of the United States, doesn’t seem to have made much of an effort to hide from police. After all, he was a resident of Oak Harbor who had graduated from Oak Harbor High School in 2015 so several people seem to have recognized him when his photograph popped up in the news on Friday night. He also doesn’t appear to have put up much resistance when he was arrested.

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"As we were driving by, I see the fella walking across the street and I go, ‘Oh, that’s him’,” Island County Sheriff's Lt. Mike Hawley told KOMO News. "So I whipped a real quick U-turn and hit the lights, pulled my gun, and he was under arrest.” Hawley said that when he confronted the suspect, Cetin “just froze.” He was unarmed and was carrying a bag with a computer. "He was kind of zombie-like," Hawley said.

Witnesses of the arrest corroborated that the arrest was so calm it was difficult to believe this was the man suspected of killing five people in cold blood a day earlier. “It was all cordial, would be the way to put it. From what I saw, it was textbook,” a witness told the Seattle Times. “It didn’t look like he did anything but obey the orders of the officers.”

Court records show three domestic-violence assault charges against Cetin with the victim identified as his stepfather, reports the Seattle Times. Cetin was also arrested for drunken driving once. A judge told Cetin in December he was not allowed to own a firearm. At the time, his stepfather asked the judge not to impose a restraining order because Cetin was “going through a hard time” and he wanted to be able to help.

As part of the domestic violence case, Cetin was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation in August of last year, according to KIRO. That was completed in March 2016. And as of late August he appeared to be in compliance with weekly sessions of mental health counseling.

At first police had said the suspect was Hispanic based on witness statements.

Daniel Politi has been contributing to Slate since 2004 and wrote the Today’s Papers column from 2006 to 2009. Follow him on Twitter.