Saturday, January 7, 2017

Fort Lauderdale Shooting - Esteban Santiago

Five people were murdered and eight others were wounded yesterday at the airport in Fort Lauderdale when a man opened fire in the baggage claim area.

From NBC 4 New York:

The 26-year-old New Jersey-born man identified by law enforcement sources as the man who opened fire at Fort Lauderale Airport, killing 5 people, had served for years in the National Guard and was recently treated in Alaska after "something got to him," family members said.

Federal sources told NBC News the shootings did not appear to be an act of terrorism, and that the gunman, identified as Esteban Santiago, appears to have acted alone.

While the motive remains under investigation, both federal and family sources said Santiago had some mental health issues.

Federal law enforcement officials told NBC News that Santiago was undergoing treatment for mental health problems, complaining that he was hearing voices.

They say last November, he walked into the FBI's office in Anchorage, Alaska, claiming that his mind was being controlled by the CIA and that it was forcing him to join ISIS. He appeared agitated and incoherent, and made disjointed statements -- and although he said he didn't wish to hurt anyone, agents were concerned by his erratic behavior and decided to call local authorities, a senior federal law enforcement official said.
Good grief. If someone shows up at the FBI's office and appears agitated and incoherent and declares that his mind was being controlled by the CIA and he was being forced to join ISIS, that deserves a dramatic reaction.

Santiago was taken to a facility for evaluation.

In an interview with Telemundo-47, Santiago's aunt said that two months ago he was hospitalized.

"Something got to him," she said. "It looks like he lost his mind. He would say that he would see things. I don't know. So he went to the hospital. That's what I know. That's what the mother told me, who lives in Puerto Rico."

The aunt -- the sister of Esteban's mother -- said Esteban was in the hospital for about two weeks.
Someone really dropped the ball here. Santiago was a threat to the public.

Five people are dead and eight wounded. Certainly, many others at the airport were probably injured and traumatized during the panic that accompanied the incident.

Another day, another mass shooting.

We just move on. These things happen. Thousands upon thousands of people were in airports across the country yesterday without being killed. No reason to worry.

As a society, have we become so desensitized to this sort of horror that we can rather easily shrug it off?

That's a very bad sign regarding how much violence and bloodshed we're willing to tolerate. It's revealing and it's not good.

Four thugs in Chicago torture a mentally challenged teen. A guy goes on a shooting spree in a Florida airport. What does the week ahead hold?


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