Alleged Ft. Lauderdale airport shooter had guns confiscated twice

Esteban Santiago, the accused Florida airport gunman had his guns seized twice by authorities before he went on his Jan. 6 rampage in which he killed five and wounded six people at Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Over four years ago, Santiago, 26, had a gun taken by Penuelas police in Puerto Rico and again more recently. In the PR incident, the reason for the confiscation wasn't made clear, and most likely was due to a complaint. 

But on both occasions investigations were closed and his guns were returned to him in 2014 after a two year investigation. 

Shortly after his guns were returned to him, he moved to Anchorage when in November of last year, he walked into an FBI office and reportedly told authorities that ISIS was influencing him and the government was attempting to control his mind by forcing him to watch ISIS videos.

His guns were again confiscated, this time by federal agents. He was given a mental health evaluation but was evidently deemed not to be a danger to himself or others and doctors believed he didn't need to be committed.

So Santiago was released and his gun returned to him on December 8th. So on January 6th, he was armed when he walked into the airport and began shooting. Whether or not the gun he used was the same that was returned is a moot point. He was allowed to have a gun, and the one he used was a Walther 9mm semi-automatic handgun.

Judging from what is known about Santiago, it's probable that he was influenced by ISIS but is also mentally ill. I would bet he suffers from schizophrenia but that needs to be determined. He appears to be eligible for the death penalty, but may get life in a mental institution if authorities see it the way I do at this time.

I am a strong Second Amendment advocate, but I also believe there needs to be better mental health screening as well as enforcement of gun laws. This guy should have been a red flag for anyone in law enforcement.



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Developing: Active shooter in custody at Ft. Lauderdale Int'l Airport

Developing -- Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport: five people dead and a shooting suspect has been taken into custody, authorities say.

At 2:30 p.m. local time the TSA said there was another active shooter at the airport and all terminals were closed, but this wasn't confirmed by law enforcement, and later proved to be unfounded and there is no second suspect. The initial shooting began at 1:00 p.m. local time.

The suspect in custody is identified as Esteban Santiago, 26, according to Sen. Bill Nelson. He said the suspect was carrying military ID. He was a passenger on an Air Canada flight and had a gun packed in his bag.

Eight people were rushed to hospitals.

"It was very surreal," John Schlicher, a witness told the media, using one of the popular words for 2016 aside from bigly. 

The witness described the shooter as a dark hair, slender man, probably in his 30s, wearing a Star Wars tee-shirt. "He was shooting people that were down on the ground too," Schlicher said.

Santiago apparently got down on the ground and waited for the police to arrive once he ran out of ammo, a witness told CBS News.

Lame Duck President Barack Hussein Obama was allegedly briefed on the shooting by his Homeland Security adviser. An anonymous source said that the so-called president was glad to know the suspect didn't shout out anything in Arabic while he mercilessly tried to kill as many strangers as possible.

The airport tweeted that there was an "ongoing incident" at Terminal 2 baggage claim. That terminal serves Delta Air Lines and Air Canada.

Video posted on Instagram showed several wounded individuals on the ground at the same terminal, one of whom appeared to be lying in a pool of blood with a head wound.

Gov. Rick Scott's office said state law enforcement hasn't confirmed a motive for the shooting and he is on his way to the scene as I frantically type this.

The airport is the 21st busiest in the USA and serves 21 different airlines. Almost 2.5 million people passed through around Thanksgiving.

What's becoming increasingly clear is our need to beef up airport security and perhaps get rid of the clowns who check your shoes and large bottles of shampoo carried by 84-year-old wheelchair-bound nuns.

It is now 4:00 p.m. local time and the airport remains closed.


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