Motive of Florida airport shooting still a mystery
Neighbors say Iraq War vet’s personality changed last fall
The man accused of a bloody shooting spree that left five people dead and six wounded at the international airport here faces a court appearance Monday while the motive for his rampage remains a mystery.
Iraq war veteran Esteban Santiago, 26, is accused of an act of violence at an airport resulting in death, along with two firearms offenses. More charges are likely as the investigation into Friday’s attack continues.
Yellow caution tape blocked access to some areas of the airport’s Terminal 2 on Sunday. The airport returned to full flight operations, but a combination of factors led to long lines for travelers.
Santiago will appear before a federal magistrate on Monday, when he’ll get a court-appointed lawyer if he needs one. Authorities investigating the shooting said they had not ruled out a terrorism motive.
George Piro, FBI special agent in charge of the Miami office, has said it was not clear why Santiago decided to fly from his home in Anchorage to carry out the shooting here. Authorities have conducted almost 200 interviews and are scouring social media, digging for clues that might shed light on what prompted so heinous a crime.
Santiago is no stranger to federal law enforcement. In November, he walked into FBI offices in Anchorage and told agents the Islamic State had gained control of his mind and was urging him to fight, a federal law enforcement official not authorized to speak publicly about the incident told USA TODAY.
The FBI conducted a background check and found no connection to terror groups. Santiago was turned over to local law en- forcement for a medical referral. He was released after being treated for an unspecified length of time, Piro said.
Neighbors in Anchorage say Santiago and his girlfriend were neighborly enough — until recently.
“We used to watch the mom sit on the front porch and watch her daughter play while she took care of the baby,” said Pamela VanDyke, whose back stairs and stoop face Santiago’s front door. “They seemed to be so happy.”
Santiago was always pleasant, until October, when some issues began to develop, said VanDyke’s daughter, Brittany Adams. She said Santiago started parking in the driveway space VanDyke’s property owner had designated specifically for her because of knee and hip surgeries.
VanDyke and Adams said they tried to reason with Santiago, but he responded “rather darkly.” About two weeks ago a neighbor had to call the police because Santiago “was having a loud party and then kicked in his door,” Adams said.
Greg Homish, a psychiatric epidemiologist and associate professor at the University at Buffalo, says it’s too early to know what role PTSD, substance abuse or other factors may have played. Several factors likely contributed, he told USA TODAY.
“This tragedy continues to reinforce the need to provide evaluation and treatment services to current and former members of the military as well as their family members,” he said.
On Sunday the airport here was bloated with people trying to rebook flights canceled Friday and Saturday.
Adding to the problem was a winter storm that delayed many flights. Also, several cruise ships returned to Port Everglades just a few miles away, adding a crush of thousands of passengers.