Updated: Fort Lauderdale Airport Shooting

We’re now hearing reports about a shooter in the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, airport who has shot 5 people. Several others were injured.

In the baggage claim area of Terminal 2, just before 1 pm Florida time, a man began shooting. Five people were killed and eight people were injured. One person was unharmed and in custody.

The man has since been identified as 26-year-old Esteban Santiago, 26. The shooting happened as hundreds of people were standing around the area after just getting off flights. The gunman apparently arrived on a flight from Canada with a gun checked into his luggage. When he claimed his bag he went into the bathroom to load it and came out shooting.

Santiago grew up in Puerto Rico and a military ID on him at the time of his capture. He is believed to have acted alone, and no motive is given at this time. Reports say that after he finished firing he essentially fell to the floor in a spread eagle position and waited for law enforcement to take him into custody, which they did without further incident.

The military said he had served in the Puerto Rico National Guard and was deployed to Iraq for 10 months. NBC News reported that law enforcement believes Santiago flew on the Delta airline from Anchorage, Alaska, and caught a connecting Delta flight from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Fort Lauderdale. Upon landing, he picked up his firearm at baggage claim, went into a bathroom and loaded the weapon.

Federal guidelines allow for passengers to check unloaded guns in a locked case, and also allows for ammunition to be placed in checked baggage.

After the shooting, passengers were stranded as the airport was evacuated or were waiting on the tarmac on planes that had yet to take off when the shooting happened. At the time of this writing, the airport remains closed as investigators gather more information.

We’re always sad about things like this. According to the accounts, the gunman was young looking (early reports placed him at about 20 years old) and was wearing a Star Wars t-shirt. Sounds like many young men in all of our lives.

Image from ABC News.