Evidence is mounting that despite early reports, the 20-year-old Turkish national who admits taking a gun into a Washington mall where five people were killed last Friday may have had Islamic terror motivations.
Arcan Cetin previously posted photos of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei to his blog, according to Fox News. Previous reports from federal and law enforcement sources indicated that no connection had been yet made to terrorism and that Cetin had mental troubles.
Monday morning Cetin was charged with five counts of first degree murder in the mall killings, according to the Washington Post. Cetin admitted to detectives that he carried out the Friday mall murders. A Navy base spokesman told the Post that Cetin was the dependent of a Navy retiree. His mother was in the courtroom during court proceedings on Monday.
Cetin came to the United States as a child, according to King 5 News, which cited federal officials’ statement that he is now a permanent resident — not a U.S. citizen. That report further stated that he appears to have voted in at least three U.S. election cycles despite not being a citizen. Investigators are looking into Cetin for what Washington state records show, that he registered to vote in 2014 and has voted since. That appears to include voting in the state’s May primary election. He also made a January 2015 Twitter post about Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
Cetin was recently charged for drunk driving and in 2014 and 2015 was three times charged for assaulting his stepfather, according to the Post, which cited court records.
Several accounts note sexual harassment of women and assault. The Associated Press reported that his posts to a blog on the website Tumblr also included serial killer Ted Bundy, Area51, Khameni, and al-Baghdadi.
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