Five killed at Florida airport, gunman in custody

Five killed at Florida airport, gunman in custody. January. 09, 2017 07:05. by Eun-A Cho achim@donga.com.

The Associated Press reported that at least five were killed and six were injured Friday after the shooting accident at Fort Lauderdale International Airport in Florida, the U.S. The suspect of the incident was also a former military soldier, like the last year’s white-black conflict shooting crisis.

According to the AP, the shooting incident first happened in a baggage claim area around 1 p.m. local time. As soon as the shot rang out, passengers began to scream and ran towards the exit, and the airport immediately turned into turmoil. The injured were relocated to nearby hospitals, and the suspect was arrested by the police at the scene.

The AP reported that if convicted, the 26-year-old suspect, Esteban Santiago, has been put on a trial by the U.S. Federal prosecutors, and could be sentenced to death penalty. While the exact cause of the crime is yet to be revealed, prosecutors are still considering possibilities of terrorism.

According to the indictment, Santiago bought a one-way ticket to Florida in Alaska after planning his rifle crime. When leaving Alaska, he sent his gun along with his luggage under due process. After arriving at Fort Lauderdale Airport, he reclaimed his luggage with the gun inside, and loaded at the toilet. With two magazines, he randomly shot 10 to 15 times within this eyesight with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun and ammunition.

Santiago has served the U.S. military for nine years, including his 10-month dispatch during the Operation Iraqi Freedom. In November 2016, he argued that the U.S. intelligence agencies had gained control of his mind while visiting the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Alaska branch in Anchorage. A heated debate is going on as Santiago had returned his rifle to the FBI and underwent a psychiatric eval‎uation, but soon received his gun back after a month when the FBI concluded that there was insufficient evidence to prove his mental illness.