Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Relatives say gunman may have developed psychological issues
Santiago, a 26-year-old from Puerto Rico and a military veteran, may have suffered from psychological issues that began after he returned from Iraq.
Most recently he lived in Anchorage, Alaska, and was a new father, according to law enforcement and family members.
At times he used the last name Ruiz.
The suspected airport shooting gunman was formerly a member of the Alaska Army National Guard and left the organization for “unsatisfactory performance” in August 2016, a National Guard spokeswoman con-
firmed. His rank at the time was private first class.
“He is no longer a member of our organization,” said Lt. Col. Candis A. Olmstead.
Olmstead said she could not elaborate on the reason for his discharge. “Information on disciplinary actions are not releasable.”
Santiago had joined the Puerto Rico National Guard in December 2007.
A combat engineer, he was deployed to Iraq from April 2010 to February 2011.
“When he came out of Iraq, he wasn’t feeling too good,” his uncle, Hernan Rivera, told the Bergen Record newspaper.
Santiago’s sibling, Bryan, told The Associated Press the family in recent months received a call from Santiago’s girlfriend to alert them he was receiving psychological treatment in Alaska.
Bryan Santiago said he didn’t know what his brother was being treated for and that they never talked about it.
An aunt told NorthJersey.com that Esteban Santiago became a father to a baby boy in September. She also said he had been having mental problems.
Maria Luisa Ruiz, of Union City, N.J., said: “He lost his mind. He said he saw things.”
The shooting Friday at Delta’s baggage claim area at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport left five dead and eight wounded.
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, who had been briefed by the Transportation Security Administration, said Santiago had been carrying a military ID.
Most recently he purportedly worked for a security firm. A man answering the phone at Signal 88 Security in Anchorage on Friday told the Sun Sentinel: “It’s an ongoing investigation. We are cooperating with all local authorities, and we have no comment.” He did not give his name before hanging up.
Santiago was born in New Jersey but moved to Puerto Rico when he was 2 years old and grew up in the southern coastal town of Penuelas, his brother said.
Court files show Esteban Santiago was prosecuted in Anchorage over a Jan. 10 incident last year. He was accused of making some kind of threat that would create fear of injury and criminal mischief. Both allegations were misdemeanors.
Few details were immediately available, but the prosecutor dismissed the case in March when Santiago entered into a deferred prosecution agreement. That usually means a defendant has to comply with certain conditions, such as probation or receiving some kind of treatment. The details of Santiago’s agreement were not immediately available.
Calls to his lawyer in that case were not immediately returned.
He was also ticketed for minor traffic infractions, including allegedly driving without insurance and having a broken taillight in April 2015.
A landlord also filed eviction proceedings against him in February 2015, stating he had failed to pay his rent.
In the criminal case in Anchorage, a notation on the court file barred Santiago from having any contact with Gine Petersson.
Petersson, 39, of Fairbanks, told the Sun Sentinel on Friday that she does not know Santiago and is mystified about why her unusual name appears in the court record.
“My home was broken into and my checkbooks were stolen in the last five years so maybe somebody was using my identity,” Petersson said.