UPDATED at 12:50 p.m. — Mount Vernon police arrested a 28-year-old man in Mount Vernon on Thursday night, on suspicion of second-degree manslaughter, after a body was found in the Arlington Haggen parking lot.

Police were called to a home on Anderson Road in Mount Vernon on Monday night to investigate a call about gunfire. A resident of the home later discovered blood and called the police again.

“We detained a 28-year-old man in Mount Vernon. This individual lived at the Anderson Road home,” said MVPD Lt. Chris Cammock.  “We believe that the suspect and the victim were acquaintances and that they were together at the time of the incident in Mount Vernon. With the evidence that we’ve collected, we believe that a shooting occurred.”

The suspect was booked into Skagit County Jail on Thursday night. The identity of the victim has not yet been released.

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ARLINGTON — Arlington Police Department officials had cordoned off the north section of the Arlington Haggen parking lot shortly before 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 28, after discovering a vehicle containing a body.

Mount Vernon Police Department detectives contacted the Arlington Police Department regarding a vehicle that had been tied to suspicious circumstances in Mount Vernon on March 26, according to law enforcement.

“Right now we have an investigation that started up in Mount Vernon,” said MVPD Lieutenant Chris Cammock. “We’ve been looking for a specific vehicle and this is the vehicle that is tied to that investigation. Arlington PD found it in the lot and called us.”

The white two-door vehicle was covered with a tarp and traffic cones to protect the identity of the deceased, who was found in the passenger seat, while MVPD detectives and emergency response personnel were still on scene at 5 p.m.

“What we are here to do now is just confirm that it’s the vehicle and then transport it out of here to a Washington State Patrol site where we are going to process it,” said Cammock. “Right now it’s just a death investigation. We were called to a residence where there were some suspicious circumstances and that led us to where we are at today.”

Law enforcement officials will not release any information on the identity of the deceased until family notifications have been made. Police have not said whether there was any foul play involved.

“That’s still to be determined,” said Cammock. “In any of these cases, when there is a death involved, we take very slow steps. Right now we are still investigating what the motive was.”

The Arlington Times will be updating this story as more information becomes available.