Cascade mall shooting: 5 dead, gunman still at large

The death toll in US mall shooting incident has risen to five, while the gunman is still on the run. Police in northwest Washington state are conducting a manhunt for the gunman on Saturday, they haven't been able to find out the motive of the suspect behind the attack yet. 

As per AFP reports, police in an updated toll confirmed the death of four women and one man. Earlier there were reports that four women were killed while two injured people were taken to hospital. However,  police spokesman Sergeant Mark Francis said that the man had been taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries, but died there.

Authorities have also said that there was only one shooter in the attack and described him as a Hispanic male wearing a grey shirt.

Local authorities searched throughout the night for the gunman, believed to be armed with a rifle and warned residents to remain inside. "Tragedy has struck in Washington tonight. Our hearts are in Burlington," Governor Jay Inslee said on Twitter. 

Tragedy has struck in Washington tonight. Our hearts are in Burlington where a shooter has taken the lives of at least four people.

— Governor Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) September 24, 2016

The shooting comes less than a week after a man stabbed nine people at a mall in central Minnesota before being shot dead. The FBI is investigating that attack as a potential act of terrorism. NBC News reported that Washington State Patrol had said that there was no indication of terrorism in the shooting in Burlington. "At this time, the FBI has no information to suggest additional attacks planned in WA state," the agency said on Twitter. 

Amidst the raging debate over gun control in US, the shooting occurred at about 7 PM local time Friday at the Cascade Mall in Burlington, Washington, about 105 km north of Seattle.

With agency inputs