A gunman opened fire in Fort Lauderdale Airport on Friday, killing five and wounding six. 37 people were reported injured in the chaotic aftermath.
Esteban Santiago, a security guard from Alaska, flew from Anchorage to Minneapolis to Fort Lauderdale on a Delta Air Lines flight. After deplaning in Florida, Santiago collected his only piece of luggage, a handgun case with a 9mm handgun that he had checked in at the airline counter, went into a bathroom where he loaded the weapon, and came out shooting around 1:55 pm. Santiago was taken into custody.
Checking a gun onto a plane is legal if a passenger brings the weapon in a locked case. The gun cannot be loaded, but regulations allow ammunition to be packed. Florida law prohibits guns inside terminals unless they are still in their case, but there is a bill before the state Legislature to allow guns in public places such as airports.
Santiago was a member of the Army National Guard from 2007-2016, and served in Iraq for ten months in 2010, where he was awarded a combat action badge. His last posting was in Alaska, where he received a general discharge for unsatisfactory performance.
NEW PHOTOS: Esteban Santiago transported to Broward Co. jail, booked, held for murder; FLL slowly resumes flights https://t.co/nIjI6XLCrk pic.twitter.com/xOfoXe1LiE
— ABC News (@ABC) January 7, 2017
Law enforcement sources told CNN that in November, Santiago went to the FBI office in Anchorage, where he told agents he heard voices. Santiago claimed he was being directed by a US intelligence agency to watch ISIS videos. He was subsequently hospitalized for two weeks for mental health treatment.
