Esteban Santiago, a 26-year-old born in New Jersey, has been identified by law enforcement officials as the man responsible for the tragic shooting this afternoon in Fort Lauderdale.
In a story that continues to develop, this is what we can report at the moment:
Just before 1 p.m, The Broward Sheriff’s Office says it received a call that an incident had taken place at the local airport.
When authorities arrived on the scene, they saw people sprinting across the tarmac between terminals; while others took cover behind parked cars.
It has since been confirmed that the shooting occurred at the baggage claim inside Terminal 2.
(For what it’s worth, Air Canada and Delta Airlines operate out of Terminal 2.)
Broward County Mayor Barbara Sharief told CNN soon after the news went viral that five people are dead and 13 others have been transpired to the hospital.
Among those on the scene was actually former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, who Tweeted the following update from the premises, a mere two minutes after the Sheriff’s Office received the aforementioned phone call:
Just before 3 p.m., the Sheriff tweeted that an “active search” was underway at the airport due to “unconfirmed reports of addt’l shots fired on airport property” after the initial incident.”
It is unknown at this time just how authorities apprehended Santiago, but he is in custody.
According to NBC News, Santiago was born in March of 1990 and had a military ID on him when he was arrested.
A U.S. intelligence official told the outlet that it was too early to assign a motive to his alleged, heinous actions.
It is believed, however, that he acted alone.
Agencies on the scene include Fort Lauderdale Police, Hollywood Police, Broward County Sheriff’s Office, the TSA, the ATF, and the FBI.
The Florida Highway Patrol is directing traffic and the airport has, of course, been temporarily shut down.
Florida Governor Rick Scott updated Twitter followers on social media as follows:
“I am on my way to Fort Lauderdale International Airport to be briefed by law enforcement.”
And both President-Elect Donald Trump and Vice President-Elect Mike Pence have weighed in on the scary incident.
“Monitoring the terrible situation in Florida. Just spoke to Governor Scott. Thoughts and prayers for all. Stay safe!” wrote Trump.
Added Pence:
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and our first responders in Fort Lauderdale, FL.”
In November of 2016, nearly 2.5 million travelers passed through Fort Lauderdale’s airport, according to a government report on the facility.
On a daily basis, more than 325 departure and 325 arrival flights come in and out of the facility, with over 73,000 travelers making their way around the airport.
There are four terminals at the airport, which ranks 21st in the country in terms of total passengers, and the area looked like a “war zone” shortly after the shooting broke out, according to one witness who spoke to CNN.
Our thoughts go out to the victims of this terrible crime.
We will continue to provide updates as more news breaks.