Florida airport shooting suspect had a history of mental illness and military service
Esteban Santiago, the 26-year-old believed to have opened fire at Florida's Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport Friday afternoon, is a veteran who deployed to Iraq in 2010 via the Puerto Rico National Guard, serving in an engineering unit before he was discharged for "unsatisfactory performance." The Pentagon said Santiago went AWOL on multiple occasions.
Before the shooting, he was living in Anchorage, Alaska, with his brother, Bryan Santiago, who said he is in shock and described the suspect as a "serious" and "normal" person. However, Santiago's aunt said since returning from Iraq he struggled with mental health and "saw things." "It was like he lost his mind," she said.
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Friday's airport attack killed five people and injured eight others in the baggage claim area of Terminal 2. Santiago has been taken into custody.
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