WASHINGTON STATE SHOOTING – AT 11:21 A.M. ET:  There has been another multiple murder, this time in a mall in Washington state.  From CNN:

(CNN) A man carrying a rifle entered a Macy's store at a mall in Washington state, shot dead four women and a man, and vanished into the night, police said.

Authorities believe only one person fired the shots Friday night at Cascade Mall in Burlington, about an hour north of Seattle.

A search is underway for an armed man who headed toward Interstate 5 after the attack, said Sgt. Mark Francis, a spokesman for the Washington State Patrol.

Francis released a blurry surveillance photo of a man described as the suspect. His motive or relationship to the victims, if any, are unclear, he said.

The names of the victims were not immediately released.

Witnesses described chaotic scenes and confusion when the shooting started about 7 p.m. local time
Brandi Montreuil told CNN she was watching a movie at the mall when attendants suddenly told them to leave.

"I didn't know anything," she said. "The theater attendant came in and apologized for stopping the movie and said they were asked to have everyone leave immediately."

COMMENT:  We still don't know much.  The shooter was described as Hispanic, but we don't know the basis of the description.  Did he say something in Spanish?  Did someone recognize him?

The mall is, laughably, a no-gun zone, which may explain how the shooter got away so easily.  He was the only one with a gun.

The fact that four of the five fatalities were female may or may not be significant.  The shooter apparently wound up in the cosmetics department of Macy's.  Was he there intentionally, or was the department near the store's entrance?  Don't know.

We await more facts.  Clearly, we'll be on guard against any cover-up.

September 24,  2016