Multiple dead in Fort Lauderdale airport shooting

UPDATE: Esteban Santiago appeared in court today in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alicia Valle, who ordered him held until his next hearings.

Shackled and wearing a red jumpsuit in the heavily guarded federal courtroom, Santiago answered mostly yes or no to questions, telling the judge he understood the charges, which include committing violence against people at an international airport resulting in death, and two firearms offenses.

“We are telling you the maximum penalty allowed by law so that you understand the seriousness of the charges,” the judge said in informing Santiago that the death penalty could apply in his case.

Valle set a detention hearing for Jan. 17, followed by an arraignment for entering a plea for Jan. 23.

Santiago has been in custody since Friday’s shooting at Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport. The FBI said he flew on a one-way ticket aboard a Delta Air Lines flight from Anchorage to Fort Lauderdale. The 11½-hour flight has a 2½-hour layover in Minneapolis, one of the longest itineraries within the United States.

Santiago checked a single piece of luggage: a gun box for his Walther 9 mm semi-automatic pistol and two magazines of ammunition, according to an FBI affidavit. Agents said he retrieved the box in baggage claim and loaded his weapon in a restroom stall before opening fire on fellow passengers, killing five and wounding six others.

In November, Santiago walked into an FBI field office in Alaska with a handgun and his infant child, saying the U.S. government was controlling his mind and forcing him to watch ISIS videos, authorities said.

Officers seized the weapon and local officers took him to get a mental health evaluation. His girlfriend picked up the child. On Dec. 8, the gun was returned to Santiago. Authorities wouldn’t say if it was the same gun used in the airport attack.

Meanwhile, an official list of the shooting victims has not been released by authorities, but family and friends of some of the victims confirmed that among the five dead were Shirley Timmons, 70, of Senecaville, Ohio, whose husband Steve, 70, was critically injured in the attack; Terry Andres, 62, of Virginia Beach, Va.; Olga Woltering, 84, of Marietta, Ga.; and Michael Oehme, 57, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, whose wife Kari, 55, was shot in the shoulder and is expected to recover. According to reports, all four were traveling with their spouses and had arrived in Fort Lauderdale to depart on vacation cruises and were collecting their luggage when the gunman opened fire.

UPDATE (1/07/17, 6:44 p.m.): The Miami U.S. attorney’s office filed a criminal complaint Saturday accusing Esteban Santiago of an act of violence at an international airport resulting in death. The punishment for such a crime is execution or any prison sentence up to life. Prosecutors also charged him with two firearms offenses.

Santiago is being held without bail and is scheduled to make his first court appearance Monday.

Meanwhile, one of the shooting victims is expected to be released from the hospital, officials said Saturday at a news conference with Florida Gov. Rick Scott. Six gunshot victims were brought to Broward Health Medical Center after Friday's shooting in which five others died. Scott said three are still in intensive care. No other details were released about the victims.

UPDATE (1/07/15, 1:33 p.m.): Authorities say Esteban Santiago appears to have traveled specifically to Fort Lauderdale to carry out Friday’s attack.

“Indications are that he came here to carry out this horrific attack,” FBI agent George Piro said at a Saturday news conference. “We have not identified any triggers that would have caused this attack. We’re pursuing all angles on what prompted him to carry out this horrific attack.”

Investigators are combing through social media and other information to determine the shooter’s motive. Piro added that it is still too early in the investigation to rule out terrorism.

Authorities said they had interviewed roughly 175 people, including a lengthy interrogation with a cooperative Santiago.

Santiago arrived in Fort Lauderdale Friday after taking off from Anchorage aboard a Delta Air Lines flight Thursday night, checking only one piece of luggage: his gun, said Jesse Davis, police chief at the Anchorage airport.

At Fort Lauderdale, “after he claimed his bag, he went into the bathroom and loaded the gun and started shooting. We don't know why,” said Chip LaMarca, a Broward County commissioner who was briefed by investigators.

It is legal for airline passengers to travel with guns and ammunition as long as the firearms are put in a checked bag—not a carry-on—and are unloaded and locked in a hard-sided container. Guns must be declared to the airline at check-in.

Santiago, who is in federal custody, will face federal charges and is expected to appear in court Monday.

Flights have resumed at Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport, though the terminal where the shooting occurred remains closed.

UPDATE (1/06/17, 9:35 p.m.): Authorities have identified the gunman in today’s shooting at the Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport as 26-year-old Esteban Santiago of Anchorage, Alaska, who served in Iraq with the National Guard. The gunman’s brother said his sibling had been receiving psychological treatment recently but that he did not know what his brother was being treated for.

A law enforcement official told The Associated Press that Santiago walked into the FBI office in Anchorage in November to say that the U.S. government was controlling his mind and making him watch Islamic State videos.

Agents questioned an agitated and disjointed-sounding Santiago and then called police, who took him for a mental health evaluation, according to the official, who was not authorized to discuss the case and spoke on condition of anonymity. The official said Santiago at the time did not appear intent on hurting anyone.

After killing five and wounding eight today, Santiago was taken into custody after throwing his empty weapon down and lying spread-eagle on the ground, according to a witness. Authorities said the motive for today’s attack was still under investigation.

According to Bryan Santiago, his brother was born in New Jersey and moved to Puerto Rico when he was 2. He was sent to Iraq in 2010 and spent a year there with the 130th Engineer Battalion, according to Puerto Rico National Guard spokesman Maj. Paul Dahlen. He later joined the Alaska National Guard.

The Pentagon said Santiago had gone AWOL several times during his stint with the Alaska National Guard and was demoted—from specialist to private first class—and given a general discharge, which is lower than an honorable discharge.

President Barack Obama was briefed by his Homeland Security adviser, the White House said. President-elect Donald Trump said that it is a “disgraceful situation that’s happening in our country and throughout the world” and that it was too soon to say whether it was a terrorist attack.

UPDATE (1/06/17, 4:35 p.m.): The suspect in a shooting at the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., airport was an arriving passenger who had the gun in his checked luggage, a Broward County commissioner said.

Chip LaMarca, who was briefed by the Broward County sheriff’s office, said the suspect, a passenger on a Canadian flight, loaded the gun in the restroom after retrieving his luggage and started shooting. Passenger John Schilcher said he first heard gunshots as he picked up his luggage from a carousel. He told Fox News he dropped to the ground after people around him started falling.

“The firing just went on and on,” Schilcher said. Officials said the suspect was unharmed and law enforcement fired no shots. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., told reporters during a news conference the suspected gunman was carrying a military ID with the name Esteban Santiago. It is not clear if the badge belonged to him or someone else. Reports of additional shots at the airport have been denied.

OUR EARLIER STORY (1/06/17, 2:54 p.m.): At least five people are dead and eight are wounded after a shooting at the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., airport today. Authorities say a lone suspect, now in custody, opened fire at the airport shortly before 12:55 p.m.

Broward County Mayor Barbara Sharief told CNN authorities “have an active crime scene investigation involving Terminal 2.” The shooting happened at the Terminal 2 baggage claim, according to a post on the airport’s Twitter account. Witnesses said the attacker appeared to be randomly shooting and did not say anything.

Local news stations showed video of medics caring for bleeding victims outside the airport. Other footage showed hundreds of people standing on the tarmac as law enforcement officers rushed to the scene. The office of Florida Gov. Rick Scott said state law enforcement does not have confirmed information on a motive for the shooting.