At least four dead in shooting at Seattle shopping mall

Washington State Patrol spokesman Mark Francis said on Twitter that survivors were being taken to a nearby church.

At least four people were killed after a spate of gunfire erupted inside a Washington mall Friday evening, police said.

Later, he said that paramedics had entered the mall with police escorts to help the wounded inside.

The mall was evacuated and closed down shortly after the shooting with local law enforcement, including a SWAT Team, responding, according to social media reports.

The public is asked to stay away from the area of a mall and also to avoid the I5 in the vicinity of State Hwy. 20.

The state police told KIRO-TV they were on the hunt for the gunman after the rampage at Cascade Mall in Burlington in the northwest part of the state. It features J C Penney, TJ Maxx, and Macy’s stores, among other stores, restaurants and a movie theater.