Victim count remains 5 dead, 8 additional wounded by gunshots.
fort-lauderdale-airport-5(Via ABC News) […]  “We have not ruled out terrorism,” FBI Special Agent in Charge George Piro said in an evening press conference.
Law enforcement officials say the suspect, Esteban Santiago, was carrying military identification. He was apprehended and placed in federal custody. He is expected to face federal charges.
Early [Saturday] morning, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office posted his booking record, including booking photo, on its website. According to the record, he was booked on a murder charge. His “charge status” reads “Pending Trial,” and “Description” reads “Hold for US Marshals Office.”

According to senior officials, the suspect flew from Anchorage, Alaska to Fort Lauderdale via Minneapolis. He boarded the plane in Alaska [Thursday] night. He only checked one bag — a hard case carrying his gun, Anchorage Airport Police told ABC News. TSA regulations allow guns to be checked into baggage if they are stored in a locked, hard-sided container that cannot be easily accessed.
According to a Broward County commissioner, he allegedly loaded the gun in the bathroom and came out firing. Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said that he fired “indiscriminately” at people in the airport. The gunman “went through a couple dozen rounds” before throwing the gun down away from him and “lying face down and spread eagle,” waiting for officers to approach him, according to Lea.
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[…] Santiago, who spent nine years in the military, was a combat engineer with the Alaska Army National Guard and left the military in August, said Lt. Col. Candis Olmstead, director of public affairs for the Alaska National Guard. He received a general discharge under honorable conditions at the rank of Private First Class.
He joined the Puerto Rico National Guard in December 2007 and was deployed to Iraq from April 2010 to February 2011.
Along the way, he earned a number of awards, including the Army Commendation Medal and the Army Good Conduct Medal, according to his service record.
fort-lauderdale-6A senior law enforcement official said that Santiago walked into the Anchorage FBI field office in November 2016, after his discharge from the military and said he was under mind control by a U.S. intelligence agency.
The official said he appeared incoherent and agitated, saying the U.S. government was trying to force him to watch ISIS videos.
However, he said he didn’t want to hurt anyone. Still, the FBI contacted local law enforcement, which, out of caution, had him medically evaluated. The FBI closed the probe after reviewing databases and interviewing family the official said.
Sources told ABC News that Santiago had received mental health treatment after the encounter with the FBI. A person who answered the phone for Signal 88 — a company in Anchorage where Santiago worked in a security capacity — said it has no comment and is “currently under the advisement of federal authorities.”  (read more)

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