WASHINGTON_Terrified travelers scrambled for cover as a gunman who had apparently carried a weapon in his checked baggage opened fire in a terminal at Fort Lauderdale's international airport Friday, killing at least five people and injuring eight others, authorities said. The suspected shooter was in custody.
The country's first mass shooting of the new year threw the busy Florida airport into chaos, with thousands of travelers and airport staffers fleeing onto walkways and the tarmac as emergency responders and law enforcement officers rushed to the scene.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it had grounded flights around the country destined for Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, but some flights that were landing when the shooting broke out shortly before 1 p.m. were stranded for hours on the tarmac with passengers aboard.
As the attack unfolded, the Transportation Safety Administration said on Twitter that there was an active shooter in the airport and urged people inside to take shelter. Later, television video showed people trudging with their luggage away from the terminals or milling around outside, with most vehicles blocked from entering the closed airport.
President-elect Donald Trump tweeted that he was following the "horrific events" at the airport and had spoken with Florida's Gov. Rick Scott. President Barack Obama was also briefed, the White House said.
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat, told reporters that the suspect had been identified as 26-year-old Esteban Santiago and was apparently carrying military identification.
Santiago had been living in a mobile home park in Anchorage, then moved to a small house.
A federal law enforcement official said Santiago boarded a Delta Air Lines flight in Anchorage and flew to Fort Lauderdale by way of Minneapolis. Authorities are investigating whether he got into a dispute with a passenger on the Anchorage-to-Minneapolis leg of the flight, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.
After getting off the plane, the gunman retrieved his baggage and went to the bathroom, where he pulled out the gun, the official said.
TSA regulations allow unloaded firearms to be legally checked in baggage in a secure container, if declared.
Law enforcement authorities said the suspect was taken into custody without any additional shots being fired, and no other suspects have been identified. Authorities said the motive was unknown.
But details of the suspect's life in Alaska were beginning to emerge.
In the fall, Santiago visited an FBI office in Anchorage and complained of being forced to fight for the militant group Islamic State, a federal law enforcement official said.
He reported that his mind was being controlled by a U.S. spy agency. Because he seemed unstable, FBI officials there called local police, and he was admitted to a psychiatric facility, the official said.
In January, he was arrested and charged with assault in an incident involving his girlfriend, after he tried to strangle her, the official said.
The prosecutor dismissed the case in March when Santiago entered into a deferred prosecution agreement.
Santiago was formerly a member of the Alaska Army National Guard, which he left for "unsatisfactory performance" in August 2016, a National Guard spokeswoman confirmed to the Sun-Sentinel. His rank was private first class.
"He is no longer a member of our organization," said Lt. Col. Candis A. Olmstead. She said she could not elaborate on the reason for his discharge.
A combat engineer, Santiago joined the Puerto Rico National Guard in December 2007.
He was deployed to Iraq from April 2010 to February 2011, according to the Alaska Army National Guard.
Before joining the Alaska Guard, he was in the U.S. Army Reserve.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel told reporters the incident appeared to have been limited to the lower-level baggage claim area of Terminal 2, and there was no evidence to support unconfirmed reports of gunshots in another terminal.
"We have the shooter in custody," Israel said. "He's unharmed. No law enforcement fired any shots."
The FBI joined the investigation but said the inquiry was in its early stages.
"We have a lot of very preliminary information that we're going through before we make a determination on the nature and motive of this incident," George L. Piro, special agent in charge of the FBI's Miami division, said at a news conference.
Hours after the shooting, most vehicles were still blocked from entering the closed airport.
Mark Lea, 53, of Minneapolis, said he was in the baggage claim area when the shots rang out.
"At first we thought it was firecrackers," he told NBC News. "Everyone started screaming and running. The shooter made his way down through baggage claim. He had what looked like a 9-millimeter (pistol) and emptied his entire clip. People were trying to run."
Travelers described huddling inside a restaurant in Terminal 2, using tables for cover.
Others described surreal scenes.
Bruce Wagner, 55, and his husband were on their way to New York after an 11-day Caribbean cruise. They were sitting at their gate when they suddenly saw people running and screaming.
The crowd stampeded for the exits, he said _ but there was no way out except for the jetways for boarding planes.
Alarms blared, and security officials struggled to open emergency exits leading down to the tarmac.
"Everybody just plowed through them, packed like sardines, shoving and pushing and screaming," Wagner said by phone.
"It was totally inept as far as security or any kind of safety," he said. "It seems like nobody's had any experience or training."
Former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer was one of those caught up in the incident, tweeting that shots had been fired and "everyone was running."
