The young Iraq war veteran suspected of fatally shooting five people and wounding eight others at Fort Lauderdale’s international airport Friday had become mentally agitated in recent weeks, family members said, despite his happiness over the birth of a son less than four months ago.
Esteban Santiago, 26, was in custody following the attack, being questioned by local and federal law enforcement. Eyewitnesses described an eerily calm assailant who fired bursts from a semiautomatic handgun at fellow airline passengers as they clustered around a baggage carousel – and then just as calmly tossed his weapon away and positioned himself spread-eagle on the ground, waiting for police to arrest him.
The country’s largest mass shooting of the new year threw the busy Florida airport into chaos, with thousands of travellers and airport staff fleeing onto walkways and the tarmac as emergency responders and law enforcement officers, many heavily armed and in tactical gear, rushed to the scene.
In addition to the eight people hurt in the shooting, 37 others were injured in the chaotic aftermath, authorities said.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it had grounded flights around the country destined for Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, but some flights that were landing when the shooting broke out shortly before 1 p.m. were stranded for hours on the tarmac with passengers aboard. Hundreds more people were trapped as security forces swept the airport.
As the attack unfolded, the Transportation Safety Administration said on Twitter that there was an active shooter in the airport and urged people inside to shelter in place. Later, television video showed long lines of people trudging with their luggage away from the terminals or milling around outside, with most vehicles still blocked from entering the closed airport.
President-elect Donald Trump tweeted that he was following the “horrific events” at the airport – briefed by Republican Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who said he had phoned Trump rather than calling President Obama. The White House said Obama was briefed about the attack by staff.
The trajectory of Santiago’s life had taken him from balmy Puerto Rico to snowy Anchorage. Along the way, many troubling signs emerged.
A federal law enforcement official said Santiago boarded a Delta Air Lines flight in Anchorage and flew to Fort Lauderdale by way of Minneapolis. Authorities are investigating whether he got into a dispute with another passenger on the Anchorage-to-Minneapolis leg of the flight, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly. After getting off the plane, the gunman retrieved his baggage and went to the bathroom, where he pulled out the gun, the official said.
Unloaded firearms can be legally checked in baggage in a secure container if declared, according to TSA regulations.
Law enforcement authorities said the suspect was taken into custody without any additional shots being fired, and no other suspects have been identified.
Authorities said the motive was unknown. But worrying details of the suspect’s life in Alaska were beginning to emerge.
A federal law enforcement source said Santiago had complained in his visit to the FBI of being forced to fight for the militant group Islamic State. He reported that his mind was being controlled by a U.S. spy agency, the official said.
A combat engineer, Santiago joined the Puerto Rico National Guard in December 2007. He was deployed to Iraq from April 2010 to February 2011, according to the Alaska Army National Guard.
In Union City, N.J., an aunt, Maria Luisa Ruiz, told reporters that Santiago had been happy upon the birth of his son, but that she and family members had feared his mental state was deteriorating. She showed reporters a photo of him wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the word “Disturbed.”
“Like a month ago, it was like he lost his mind,” she said, according to the website NorthJersey.com. “He said he saw things.”
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel told reporters the incident appeared to have been limited to the lower-level baggage claim area of Terminal 2, and there was no evidence to support unconfirmed reports of gunshots in another terminal.
“There’s no confirmation of any kind of gunshots anywhere at any time other than this horrific, horrific incident,” Israel said. The FBI has joined the investigation. Santiago will face federal charges and will most likely make his first court appearance in Broward County on Monday, Piro said. He did not specify the charges and declined to speculate about a motive, saying it was too early in the investigation.
Agents have not ruled anything out, including the possibility of terrorism, he said. "It is a long-term, very difficult, complex investigation."
Travellers described huddling inside a restaurant in Terminal 2, using tables for cover, after the gunfire erupted or ducking behind parked cars when they saw people running out the doors. Others told of surreal scenes that suddenly punctuated the tedium of a routine wait at the airport.
Bruce Wagner, 55, and his husband were on their way to New York after an 11-day Caribbean cruise.
They were sitting at their gate when they suddenly saw people running and screaming.
The crowd stampeded for the exits, he said – but there was no way out except for the jetways for boarding planes. Alarms blared, and security officials struggled to open emergency exits leading down to the tarmac.
“Everybody just plowed through them, packed like sardines, shoving and pushing and screaming,” Wagner said by phone, with alarms still screeching in the background. Some of those who ran outside stayed close to the terminals, but others fled as far as the runways.
Finally passengers were let back inside, where passengers’ bags and outerwear were strewn everywhere, and iPads were left still plugged in for charging in the melee.
Only moments later, an apparently false alarm sent people fleeing again.
“It was totally inept as far as security or any kind of safety,” Wagner said. “It seems like nobody’s had any experience or training.”
Former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer was one of those caught up in the incident, tweeting that shots had been fired and “everyone was running.”
- Los Angeles Times