National Security

Surveillance Video Shows Florida Shooter As He Opened Fire At Airport [VIDEO]

Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via REUTERS

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Russ Read Pentagon/Foreign Policy Reporter
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A closed-circuit television surveillance video shows Esteban Santiago opening fire on passengers at the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., airport Friday.

Santiago killed five people in his shooting spree, with witnesses reporting he targeted his victims’ heads. The video shows Santiago walking through the baggage claim area of the Ft. Lauderdale airport and suddenly pulling a hand gun from the waist of his pants. He then begins firing and moves out of camera range.

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Santiago, a 26-year-old native of New Jersey, spent time in the U.S. Army National Guard and was deployed to Iraq. He moved to Anchorage in 2014, where he was not known to have a major criminal record.

He walked into an FBI field office in Alaska last November, informing FBI officials that his mind was being controlled by an intelligence agency and he was being forced to fight for Islamic State. Authorities reported his claims as “incoherent, disjointed statements.” Police called to the scene took Santiago to a psychiatric facility where he spent four days before being released. Officers also took his handgun, which was given back to him later, per Alaskan law.

Reportedly, he posted in a jihadi Internet forum in 2007, but otherwise does not have any known connections to a terrorist group, nor is clear that he was self-radicalized like several other ISIS adherents who committed attacks in the U.S. ISIS has not taken credit for his attack as of the writing of this article.

Santiago faces three charges, two of which carry a possible death penalty sentence.

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