On Nov. 7, Esteban Santiago parked at an FBI office in Anchorage, Alaska _ leaving his newborn son and his gun in the car _ and told agents that the CIA was trying to control his mind, pushing him to watch Islamic State terrorist videos.
The feds called local police, who took Santiago into custody and sent him to get a psychiatric evaluation. Santiago's girlfriend picked up the baby. The cops took the gun _ and a loaded magazine Santiago carried on him.
He got the gun back 31 days later. Twenty-nine days after that, police say Santiago got on a flight that brought him to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, picked up a gun he'd checked in as luggage, and shot 11 people, killing five of them.
Law enforcement won't say yet whether the 9-mm semiautomatic weapon Santiago is suspected of using at Friday's airport rampage was the same firearm he retrieved from the Anchorage Police Department Dec. 8. But he flew to Fort Lauderdale specifically to carry out his massacre, they said. They still don't know why.
Anchorage U.S. Attorney Karen Loeffler said federal law requires someone to be "adjudicated" as mentally ill before they can be kept from flying with a firearm.
"This is not somebody that would have been prohibited, based on the information that they had," she said of local police and federal agents. "We're a country of laws, and they operate within them."
Santiago, 26, could face life in prison _ or the death penalty if he's eventually convicted of murder under a federal law banning violence at airports. The FBI has yet to rule out terrorism as a possible motive.
"Indications are that he came here to carry out this horrific attack," said George Piro, the Miami FBI special agent in charge. "We have not identified any triggers."
He added: "It appears the shooter was acting alone, but again it's early in the investigation."
The handgun _ Santiago's only piece of checked luggage _ was registered as required for travel following the Transportation Security Administration procedures.
As part of their massive investigation, authorities said they interviewed about 175 witnesses. There was no indication of any altercation among Santiago and his fellow passengers aboard the Delta Air Lines flight from Minneapolis that originated in Anchorage.
Santiago was taken down less than 90 seconds after he began shooting, Broward Sheriff Scott Israel said.
Much of the investigation into Santiago has centered on Anchorage, where he lived with his girlfriend and their son in a modest neighborhood.
The couple was known for throwing loud gatherings and causing a ruckus, a neighbor said.
"Just a lot of parties. Very loud," said Pamela Van Dyke, who lives across from the couple's house. "Just crazy."
At one point several months ago, Santiago had kicked down the door, drawing police to the house, Van Dyke said. She also recalled some sort of altercation or noise on New Year's Day.
"I was so shocked. He seemed so nice at first," Van Dyke said. "I don't know what happened to him ... . He seemed quiet."
FBI and local investigators flooded the residential community Friday to search for evidence and question neighbors, Van Dyke said. Marlin Ritzman, the Anchorage FBI special agent in charge, said agents searched Santiago's home and a nearby inn where Santiago apparently stayed recently. No connection to South Florida has been found.
"We can't figure out why Fort Lauderdale," Van Dyke said. "We feel for the families."
Santiago reportedly worked as a guard for Signal 88, a security company. A man who answered the phone of the Anchorage office Saturday said he could not comment.
Santiago's mother declined to comment to an Associated Press reporter in Penuelas, Puerto Rico, where Santiago grew up after moving from New Jersey as a toddler. His brother, Bryan Santiago, said his brother did not receive enough mental-health treatment after telling his family in August that he was hearing voices.
"How is it possible that the federal government knows, they hospitalize him for only four days, and then give him his weapon back?" Bryan Santiago told the AP.
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(Correspondents John Messick and Julia O'Malley in Anchorage, Alaska, contributed to this report.)
