US not ruling out terrorism in Florida airport shooting
MIAMI: The US authorities are not ruling out “the terrorism angle” as a potential motive of the Iraq war veteran accused of killing five people at the Fort Lauderdale International Airport, officials said yesterday. Police interrogated the suspect, 26-year-old Esteban Santiago, throughout much of the night after the shooting rampage that killed five people, wounded six and sent thousands scrambling for safety before the authorities shut down the airport, a major gateway to the Caribbean and Latin America.
“We continue to look at all avenues and all motives for this horrific attack,” George Piro, the special agent in charge of Miami’s FBI field office, told journalists. “We are continuing to look at the terrorism angle in regards to the potential motivation behind this attack.” Piro said the suspect appeared to be acting alone and that “every indication is that he did follow (Transportation Security Administration) procedures in checking in the weapon,” a nine-millimeter semi-automatic handgun he had declared and stowed inside his checked luggage.
The incident occurred in the baggage claim area of Terminal 2, as passengers collecting their luggage were interrupted by the alleged gunman, who withdrew his weapon before opening fire on his victims. Santiago had traveled from Alaska to Fort Lauderdale, with a stopover in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In November, Santiago had walked into the FBI’s Anchorage office
exhibiting “erratic behavior” that led agents to contact local police, who took him to a medical facility for a mental health evaluation, Piro said. However, he was not placed on a no-fly list, Piro added.
A former member of the Puerto Rico and Alaska National Guard, Santiago served in Iraq from April 2010 to February 2011. He ended his service in August. Investigators were probing Santiago’s recent travel. “Indications are that he came here to carry out this horrific attack,” Piro said, adding that officials had not yet “identified any triggers”. The suspect, who earlier complained that the CIA was forcing him to watch Islamic State videos, allegedly opened fire randomly with a semi-automatic handgun Friday shortly before 1:00 pm (1800 GMT).
Following the initial gunshots, a deputy officer came into contact with the gunman after approximately 70 to 80 seconds, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel told reporters. Santiago was detained without law enforcement having fired any shots, the sheriff added. An aunt, Maria Luisa Ruiz, told the NorthJersey.com news site that Santiago became a father to a baby boy in September - and that he was having mental problems. “Like a month ago, it was like he lost his mind,” Ruiz said. “He said he saw things. My family and I are in shock right now,” she added. “It’s sad, but we have to confront the situation.” FBI agents later interviewed Ruiz, CNN reported. In addition to those killed and wounded, up to 40 people went to the hospital for various other injuries such as falling and sprains, Israel said. Three of the wounded were still in the intensive care unit. The sheriff emphasized that if people “are suffering from a mental illness or they’re on a no-fly list or they’re a convicted felon, they flat out shouldn’t be allowed to own handguns or rifles.”
The shooting renewed anxieties about airport security a concern that has loomed large in the post-9/11 era - and shed new light on ongoing US gun-control debates. Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who represents the Florida district that includes the airport, said the incident brought into question federal rules that allow firearms to be carried on a plane in checked baggage.
Speaking to CNN, the congresswoman said “baggage claim areas are not secure” and that the incident should prompt close review of “whether or not you should be allowed to check a firearm at all” - as well as how passengers traveling with firearms should be able to retrieve their weapons after landing. “If there is still exposure to the traveling public of someone who wishes to do them harm and, like this individual, was reunited with their firearm and was able to wreak havoc... it absolutely needs to be addressed.”
Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, rebuked the government for not taking legislative action to tighten gun laws. “Political cowardice is the accomplice of every mass shooter,” he wrote on Twitter. “The utter silence of Congress in the face of this carnage has become consent.” The Fort Lauderdale airport was open again yesterday, aiming to run at about 85 percent of its normal capacity, according to the airport director. Airport personnel were also busy conducting the complicated task of returning nearly 20,000 pieces of luggage and other personal items abandoned by passengers fleeing at the time of the shooting, officials said. — AFP