Four women dead in shooting at mall in Washington state

Medics wait to gain access to the Cascade Mall after four people were shot dead in Burlington, Washington, US, Sept 24, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

Four women have been shot dead and a man critically injured at a shopping centre in Burlington, Washington state. Police have released a picture of the suspected gunman, who fled the scene armed with a rifle.

The shooting occurred at about 7 pm local time Friday at the Cascade Mall in Burlington, Washington, about 65 miles (105 km) north of Seattle, Washington State Patrol spokesman Mark Francis said in a Twitter post.

A local hospital told a CBS affiliate that it has received one casualty from the shooting. The station reported that a nearby high school football game was evacuated as a precaution.

Francis said police were actively searching for the shooter, who was described as a "Hispanic male wearing gray" and last seen walking toward a nearby highway away from the mall.

"Tragedy has struck in Washington tonight. Our hearts are in Burlington," Governor Jay Inslee said on Twitter.

Rescue workers were entering the mall to attend to the injured, Francis said in a Twitter post.

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 have said that there is no indication of terrorism in the shooting in Burlington.

Witnesses shared their experiences on Twitter. "They just evacuated the entire mall, including the movie theater," tweeted Joshua Josheph.