U.S. investigators search for motive after fatal Florida airport shooting

Santiago was deployed to Iraq in 2010 as part of the Puerto Rico National Guard and spent a year there with an engineering battalion, clearing roads of explosives.

According to FBI officials, Santiago had visited a bureau field office in Anchorage, Alaska, in November. Officials have not ruled out terrorism as a motive for the shooting.

More officers began patrolling pre-security areas months ago after shootings at airports around the world.

Many Quebecers were stranded in Florida after a lone gunman opened fire at the Fort Lauderdale airport on Friday.

“It’s just by coincidence that the flight we chose was out of Miami and not Fort Lauderdale“, Lindaas said, “so, it was very surreal”.

Kelly says if airports adopted a policy of profiling passenger behavior and physiological responses to screening questions, they could stop attacks like this one. Investigators are looking into the suspect’s motive, she said.

Broward County Sheriff’s office tweeted that a suspect was in custody following the shooting that broke out around midday, shutting down the global airport.

John Schlicher, who told MSNBC he saw the attack, described the shooter as a slender man who was “directly firing at us” while passengers waited for their bags. Sources identified the suspect as Esteban Santiago. “At this time, there is no confirmation at all that there is another active shooting at the airport”. If convicted of the charge, Santiago could face the death penalty or possibly life in prison for the attack that killed five people.

Allegiant Air, which also has flights at Sanford airport said its remaining flights to and from Fort Lauderdale are canceled.

Authorities say Army veteran Esteban Santiago of Anchorage, Alaska, had complained that the government was controlling his mind drew agun from his checked luggage on arrival and opened fire on fellow travelers. Jesse Davis, police chief at the Anchorage airport, says Santiago checked a semi-automatic handgun with TSA according to proper protocol, without drawing attention to himself.

“We have not talked for the past three weeks”, Bryan Santiago said.

Officers with long guns and bomb-sniffing dogs will be very visible in baggage-check and ticketing areas, airport spokesman Patrick Hogan said Friday.