The 20-year-old man, who was charged with killing five people at a mall in Washington D.C. was found dead in his prison cell in an apparent suicide, authorities said on Monday.

Arcan Cetin was found hanging on Sunday evening, said the chief criminal deputy prosecutor for the Skagit County, Rosemary Kaholokula.

Cetin was being held in Snohomish County, where he was awaiting the results of a mental competency evaluation.

The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office, which operates the jail, said that the inmate had been found unresponsive, and the efforts to revive the prisoner failed. The death is under investigation.

Cetin allegedly shot a teenage girl, a man and three women at Cascade Mall in Burlington, which is 105 km north of Seattle, on September 23rd, last year.

Police arrested Cetin about 30 hours later near his home and later he confessed during interrogation, but did not explain why he did it.

The suspect had a history of violent behavior toward his family and former girlfriend.

The victim’s family Chuck Eagan was shocked by the death. "We pray that the man repented to God before his death," the statement said. "While this event puts to rest our fear of his release, we harbor no ill will towards Mr. Cetin or his family and pray for their comfort as we know all too well the pain of grief."
Cetin was charged with aggravated murder, which could have led to capital punishment.

According to police reports, Cetin told his ex girlfriend that his father was connected to “bad people in Turkey”. When asked by police, if his Turkish relatives had ties to terrorist groups, Cetin declined and said that he did not have any contact with those relatives.

The shooting was captured on surveillance video. The victims were identified as 16-year-old Sarai Lara, 52-year-old Shayla Martin, 61-year-old Eagan, 64-year-old Galde, 95-year-old Beatrice Dotson.

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