FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla._The lone gunman who fatally shot five people at Fort Lauderdale's airport appeared to have flown to Florida specifically to carry out the public attack _ but exactly why remains unknown, South Florida's top FBI agent said Saturday.
Special Agent in Charge George Piro said investigators have found "no specific reason" why that the gunman chose Fort Lauderdale. Agents have not identified any "triggers" that spurred the attack.
"It appears the shooter was acting alone, but again it's early in the investigation," Piro said at a news conference.
Piro spoke the morning after Esteban Santiago is alleged to have opened fire inside the Terminal 2 baggage claim, killing five people, wounding six others and causing hours of panic and chaos at the Florida's second-busiest airport.
Santiago, a former U.S. Army soldier who is believed to have had mental illness after tours in Iraq, was booked into the Broward County jail early Saturday, and is being held to face federal charges. He'll appear in federal court on Monday.
Most of the airport resumed operations early Saturday.
Saturday's news conference filled in some, but by no means all, the details on the attack.
The gunman used a 9-mm handgun, which he had legally stowed in his checked baggage after arriving shortly after noon on Friday. He is believed to have loaded the weapon in a bathroom before emerging to fire. Santiago fired for less than 80 seconds before surrendering to police, authorities said Saturday.
"Every indication is that he did follow TSA procedures" in flying with the weapon in his luggage, Piro said. The gunman did not appear on any "no-fly" list.
Investigators interviewed Santiago for hours afterward, Piro said. There is no evidence he got into any sort of arguments or fights on his flight or in the baggage claim before the attack, the agent said.
Agents and detectives have interviewed nearly 200 witnesses, combed through physical evidence and reviewed surveillance footage.
"We are continuing to look at terrorism as an angle for potential motivation for this attack," Piro said.
