Five people are dead and a shooting suspect is in custody Friday after a lone gunman opened fire at a baggage claim airea in Florida’s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, shooting some people in the head without saying a word, witnesses and investigators said.
In the ensuing panic, the TSA received two separate, unconfirmed reports of a separate active shooter, a law enforcement official told Fox News. However, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said Friday afternoon there was no indication any additional shots were fired.
The suspect in custody was identified as Esteban Santiago, Florida Sen. Bill Nelson told reporters. He said Santiago was carrying a military ID, but did not elaborate.
“The shooter was a passenger on a Canadian flight with a checked gun,” Broward County Commissioner Chip LaMarca wrote on Facebook. “He claimed his bag and took the gun from baggage and went into the bathroom to load it. Came out shooting people in baggage claim.”
Santiago was taken into custody without incident and was unhurt. Law enforcement never fired any shots, Israel said. “This scene is considered fluid and active.”
Eight people were rushed to hospitals. The shooting unfolded in Terminal 2, which serves serves Delta Air Lines and Air Canada.
“It was very surreal,” John Schlicher, a witness, told Fox News. “He did not say a word.” He described the shooter as a slender man with dark hair, likely in his 30s, wearing a Star Wars T-shirt.
“He was shooting people that were down on the ground, too,” Schlicher said.
While speaking to Shepard Smith live on Fox News, Schlicher said he heard crews ordering passengers to take cover amid the unconfirmed reports of more shots fired. He spoke over the phone while ducked down on the floor.
The gunman apparently got down on the ground and waited for police to arrive after he ran out of bullets, a witness told CBS News.
President Barack Obama was briefed on the shooting by his Homeland Security adviser, the White House said.
Video posted on Instagram appeared to show several people wounded in the baggage claim area of the terminal. One person appeared to be lying in a pool of blood with a head wound.
Paramedics could be seen treating a bleeding victim outside the airport. Hundreds of people stood on the tarmac as an ambulance drove by.
Ari Fleischer, a former White House spokesman, was at the airport at the time of the shooting and tweeted that “everyone is running.”
Jillian Saunders, from Palm Beach, Florida, told The Associated Press in direct Twitter messages that she was watching the activity from the tarmac in a plane scheduled to fly to Los Angeles.
Monitoring the terrible situation in Florida. Just spoke to Governor Scott. Thoughts and prayers for all. Stay safe!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2017
“Everything you see on the news is happening outside my window,” she said. “I am luckily on the plane and they said we are right now the safest people at the airport.”
The office of Florida Gov. Rick Scott said state law enforcement have not confirmed a motive behind the shooting. Scott is traveling to the scene to be briefed by law enforcement.
The ATF was responding to the scene. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson was monitoring the shooting and getting regular updates — part of standard practice, a federal law enforcement source told Fox News.
The airport is the 21st busiest in the United States and serves 21 different airlines. Nearly 2.5 million people passed through the airport in November, according to a county government report.
