On Friday afternoon (GMT- 5), an individual opened fire at the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, International airport. The authorities said at least five people were killed and eight were wounded in the firing. The shooter was identified as 26 year old Esteban Santiago of Anchorage, Alaska. A war veteran, he served in Iraq with the National Guard but was demoted and discharged last year for unsatisfactory performance.
The airport comes under Broward County, whose sheriff’s office tweeted the information after the shoot. The mayor Barbara Sharief told CNN that authorities have an active crime scene investigation at terminal 2. All the access to the airport has been suspended as police authorities and medical workers rushed to the crime scene.
Confirming multiple people are dead, and a number of people were transported to a hospital from @FLLFlyer. Upper level of airport open.
— Broward Sheriff (@browardsheriff) January 6, 2017
The shooter who was responsible for the shooting has been arrested and taken into custody. The County Sheriff’s Office also cited multiple deaths on their official Twitter account.
Update: 5 ppl dead; 8 injured were taken to an area hospital.
— Broward Sheriff (@browardsheriff) January 6, 2017
Governor Rick Scott was on his way to the airport for a briefing about the situation from the Police as his office confirmed the shooting. The incident was aired live by multiple news channels who covered the incident from helicopters hovering over the airport.
