\n Santiago didn\u2019t resist when he was taken into custody, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said. According to his booking information, Santiago is being held without bond on a murder charge.\n <\/p>\n
\n He lives in Alaska, where he was a security guard.\n <\/p>\n
![\"Suspect](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/w_632.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Alaska was also the site of his last military assignment. He was a member of the Alaska Army National Guard from November 2014 until August when he was discharged for unsatisfactory performance, a spokeswoman for the guard said.\n <\/p>\n
\n In November, Santiago paid a visit to the FBI office in Anchorage, telling agents he was hearing voices and being directed by a US intelligence agency to watch ISIS videos, law enforcement sources told CNN.\n <\/p>\n
\n George Piro, the FBI\u2019s special agent in charge in Miami, told reporters that Santiago was turned over to local authorities and he voluntarily submitted to a mental health evaluation.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cHis erratic behavior concerned FBI agents,\u201d Piro said Saturday.\n <\/p>\n
\n The military said Santiago\u2019s nine years of service in the National Guard included one 10-month tour of Iraq, where he was awarded a combat action badge.\n <\/p>\n
\n Santiago returned from Iraq a changed man, his aunt told CNN on Saturday.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cHis mind was not right,\u201d the aunt, Maria Ruiz Rivera, said in a phone interview in Spanish from her home in New Jersey. \u201cHe seemed normal at times, but other times he seemed lost. He changed.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n She added, \u201cHe talked about all the destruction and the killing of children. He had visions all the time.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Ruiz said she lost contact with Santiago several months ago.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cHe stopped calling,\u201d she said. \u201cHe wouldn\u2019t respond to my messages. I would call and text. He seemed distant.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Her family is still in shock.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cWho would have imagined that he could do something like this?\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t say that because we\u2019re family. I say it because he wasn\u2019t like that.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Piro said Santiago flew from Anchorage to Minneapolis to Fort Lauderdale on a Delta Air Lines flight.\n <\/p>\n
\n A lieutenant with the Anchorage airport police said Santiago had one bag \u2013 a handgun case with a pistol inside that he checked.\n <\/p>\n
\n Authorities do not know why Santiago was in Fort Lauderdale.\n <\/p>\n
\n But Piro said Saturday that Santiago \u201ccame here specifically to carry out this horrific attack.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cWe have not identified any triggers that would have caused this attack,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n
\n Piro said investigators were looking at airport video to see how the rampage unfolded. Authorities have conducted more than 100 interviews as part of their investigation.\n <\/p>\n
\n The FBI has not ruled out terrorism, Piro said, but Israel cautioned it was early in the investigation and authorities did not know Santiago\u2019s motive.\n <\/p>\n
\n On Saturday, Piro said investigators \u201ccontinue to look at the terrorism angle\u201d as a possible motive.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cWe have not ruled out anything,\u201d he said. \u201cWe continue to look at all avenues, all motives.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Piro said Santiago was cooperating with investigators, who had interviewed him for several hours. The interview concluded early Saturday.\n <\/p>\n
\n There were reports of a possible altercation involving Santiago on the flight to Fort Lauderdale, but law enforcement sources said investigators haven\u2019t discovered any evidence to support those claims.\n <\/p>\n
\n The airline said it had received no reports of any incidents during the flight.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cReports from customers and crew onboard the flight in question indicate that there was not a customer altercation during the flight,\u201d according to a Delta representative.\n <\/p>\n
\n Sara Graham, who had been vacationing in Fort Lauderdale, wrote on Instagram that she and her family were about 100 feet away from the shooter.\n <\/p>\n
\n Graham said her brother led her and her mother to safety after the commotion began.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cWhen we first heard the shots we had no idea what was happening until everyone started running towards exits,\u201d she wrote. \u201cWe hid for about 30 minutes and we\u2019re let back inside, under the impression it was all safe.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Instagram post not found.\n <\/p>\n
\n Post has been removed or is no longer public.\n <\/p>\n
\n Then there was a rumor of another shooter and people started running again.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cOnce we were outside, we had to run three more times until we were sure that we were safe,\u201d she said.\n <\/p>\n
\n They spent the rest of Friday afternoon in an aircraft hangar before people were allowed to leave.\n <\/p>\n
![\"One](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/w_1093.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
\n One man told CNN\u2019s Anderson Cooper that a laptop in a backpack he had slung over his shoulder stopped a bullet that could have killed him<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI felt something hit my back,\u201d Steve Frappier said, adding he thought it was luggage falling off the carousel.\n <\/p>\n \n It was a bullet, which ricocheted off the laptop. He found it in the side pocket of his bag.\n <\/p>\n \n Other witnesses described the aftermath of the shooting as a \u201cwar zone\u201d and \u201cmass hysteria.\u201d<\/a>\n <\/p>\n \n Taking a gun on a plane is legal<\/a> if a passenger brings the weapon in a case that locks and checks the suitcase containing the gun.\n <\/p>\n \n The gun cannot be loaded, though regulations allow travelers who fill out a declaration form to also bring ammunition.\n <\/p>\n \n Florida law prohibits guns inside terminals unless they are still in their case, but there is a bill before the state Legislature to allow guns in public places such as airports.\n <\/p>\n \n The Fort Lauderdale airport was closed for the rest of Friday, and more than 10,000 travelers had their trips interrupted for hours.\n <\/p>\n \n Flight tracking website FlightAware<\/a> said 159 arrivals and 149 departures were canceled \u2013 about a third of the scheduled flights.\n <\/p>\n \n The airport said services resumed Saturday.\n <\/p>\n All roadways to #FLL<\/a> are now open for passengers and employees. Check with your airline before leaving for the airport.<\/p>\n![\"map](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/1794181763_833_w_1093.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n