US seeks death penalty in Florida airport shooting case

The brother of airport shooting suspect questioned why his brother was allowed to keep his gun after US authorities knew he’d become increasingly paranoid and was hearing voices

FORT LAUDERDALE (US): While investigators try to figure out the motive of an Iraq war veteran accused of killing five travelers and wounding six others at a busy international airport in Florida, the suspected gunman was charged and could face the death penalty if convicted.

Esteban Santiago, 26, was charged with an act of violence at an international airport resulting in death which carries a maximum punishment of execution and weapons charges.

Santiago told investigators that he planned the attack, buying a one-way ticket to the Fort Lauderdale airport, a federal complaint said. Authorities don’t know why he chose his target and have not ruled out terrorism.

“Today’s charges represent the gravity of the situation and reflect the commitment of federal, state and local law enforcement personnel to continually protect the community and prosecute those who target our residents and visitors,” US Attorney Wifredo Ferrer said.

Authorities said during a news conference that they had interviewed roughly 175 people, including a lengthy interrogation with a cooperative Santiago, who is a former National Guard soldier from Alaska. Flights had resumed at the Fort Lauderdale airport after the bloodshed, though the terminal where the shooting happened remained closed.

FBI Agent George Piro said Santiago spoke to investigators for several hours after he opened fire with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun that he appears to have legally checked on a flight from Alaska. “Indications are that he came here to carry out this horrific attack,” Piro said. “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 Santiago’s motive, and it’s too early to say whether terrorism played a Esteban Santiago, had trouble controlling his anger after serving in Iraq and told his brother that he felt he was being chased and controlled by the CIA through secret online messages. When he told agents at an FBI field office his paranoid thoughts in November, he was evaluated for four days, then released without any follow-up medication or therapy.

“The FBI failed there,” Bryan Santiago told The Associated Press. “We’re not talking about someone who emerged from anonymity to do something like this.”

Speaking in Spanish outside his family’s house in Penuelas, the brother said: “The federal government already knew about this for months, they had been evaluating him for a while, but they didn’t do anything.” Bryan Santiago said he noted that his brother was behaving differently when he returned from Iraq. “He sometimes couldn’t control his anger,” he said. “You could tell something had changed.” Bryan Santiago said that when he went to visit his brother in Alaska last August, he said Santiago told him he was hearing voices and felt he was being chased.

Authorities in Alaska yesterday defended their interactions with Esteban Santiago. FBI Special Agent in Charge Marlin Ritzman told a news conference that Santiago broke no laws when he walked into the Anchorage FBI office “making disjointed comments about mind control.” He characterised Santiago as a “walkin complaint,” which he said offices around the country receive daily. Anchorage police were called to the office by the agency, told Santiago he was having “terroristic thoughts” and believed he was being influenced by the so-called Islamic State group and was taken to a mental health facility, city Police Chief Chris Tolley said.

Santiago had left a gun and his newborn child in his vehicle when he went to the FBI office. Police held the gun until Santiago was released and contacted him about picking up the weapon, which he did on December 8, Tolley said. In recent years, Santiago - a new dad - had been living in Anchorage but there were signs of trouble.

role, Piro said. In November, Santiago had walked into an FBI field office in Alaska saying the US government was controlling his mind and forcing him to watch Islamic State group videos, authorities said. “He was a walk-in complaint.

This is something that happens at FBI offices around the country every day,” FBI agent Marlin Ritzman said. Santiago had not been placed on the US nofly list and appears to have acted alone, authorities said.