bdmetronews Desk ॥ A shooter opened fire at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida earlier on Friday, killing five people and wounding multiple others, law enforcement officials said.
The shooter was in custody — unharmed and under interrogation — the Broward County Sheriff’s office said, but the situation remained “fluid and active.” Multiple law enforcement sources identified the suspect as New Jersey -born Esteban Santiago, 26, and said he had a military ID on him at the time of his capture.
All flights were grounded and additional areas of the airport were being evacuated and cleared. The motive for the attack, which started shortly before 1 p.m. was not known, according to law enforcement officials.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott held a news conference with Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel shortly after 5:15 p.m. ET. He reconfirmed the death toll of five people and said he learned about the incident earlier while he was in Fort Myers.
The governor said he reached out to President-elect Donald Trump to update him and Vice President-elect Mike Pence as the situation unfolded. Gov. Scott said he and President Barack Obama have not reached to each other.
Vice President-elect Pence spoke to reporters outside of Trump Tower in Manhattan around 5:50 p.m., ET, saying the shooting was a “heartbreaking loss of life” and “the hearts of every American are in Fort Lauderdale tonight.” Pence also briefly remarked on the “constructive and respectful dialogue” he and Trump had with the leaders of intelligence community during their briefing earlier Friday.
The man police say opened fire with a gun from his checked baggage at a Florida airport had a history of mental health issues — some of which followed his military service in Iraq — and was receiving psychological treatment at his current home in Alaska, his relatives said Friday after the deadly shooting.
“Only thing I could tell you was when he came out of Iraq, he wasn’t feeling too good,” his uncle, Hernan Rivera, told the Bergen Record newspaper (http://bit.ly/2j04ghF ).
Esteban Santiago, 26, deployed in 2010 as part of the Puerto Rico National Guard, spending a year with an engineering battalion, according to Guard spokesman Maj. Paul Dahlen.
In recent years, Santiago had been living in Anchorage, Alaska, his brother, Bryan Santiago, told The Associated Press from Puerto Rico. Bryan Santiago said his brother’s girlfriend had recently called the family to alert them to his treatment, but he didn’t have further details. He said his brother never spoke to him directly about his medical issues.
“We have not talked for the past three weeks,” Bryan Santiago said. “That’s a bit unusual … I’m in shock. He was a serious person … He was a normal person.”
Esteban Santiago was born in New Jersey but moved to Puerto Rico when he was 2, his brother said.
Since returning from Iraq, he had also served in the Army Reserves and the Alaska National Guard in Fairbanks. He was serving as a combat engineer in the Guard prior to his discharge for “unsatisfactory performance,” said Lt. Col. Candis Olmstead, a spokeswoman. She would not elaborate on his discharge.
His uncle and aunt in New Jersey were trying to make sense of what they were hearing about Santiago after his arrest at the Fort Lauderdale airport.
