Posted 35 minutes ago
Updated 34 minutes ago
By JASON DEAREN, Associated Press
The man police say opened fire with a gun from his checked baggage at a Florida airport had a history of mental health problems — some of which followed his military service in Iraq — and was receiving psychological treatment at his home in Alaska, his relatives said Friday after the deadly shooting.
„Only thing I could tell you was when he came out of Iraq, he wasn’t feeling too good,“ his uncle, Hernan Rivera, told The Record newspaper (http://bit.ly/2j04ghF ).
Esteban Santiago, 26, deployed in 2010 as part of the Puerto Rico National Guard, spending a year with an engineering battalion, according to Guard spokesman Maj. Paul Dahlen.
In recent years, Santiago — a new dad, family said — had been living in Anchorage, Alaska, his brother, Bryan Santiago, told The Associated Press from Puerto Rico. Bryan Santiago said his brother’s girlfriend had recently called the family to alert them to his treatment.
In November, Esteban told FBI agents in Alaska that the government was controlling his mind and was forcing him to watch Islamic State group videos, a law enforcement official said. The official was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation by name and spoke Friday on condition of anonymity.
The FBI agents notified the police after the interview with Esteban Santiago, who took him in for a mental health evaluation.
Bryan Santiago said his brother never spoke to him directly about his medical issues.
„We have not talked for the past three weeks,“ Bryan Santiago said. „That’s a bit unusual… I’m in shock. He was a serious person… He was a normal person. “
Esteban Santiago was born in New Jersey but moved to Puerto Rico when he was 2, his brother said. He grew up in the southern coastal town of Penuelas before joining the Guard in 2007.
Former neighbor Ursula Candelario recalled seeing Esteban Santiago grow up and said people used to salute him after he joined the Guard. „He was very peaceful, very educated, very serious,“ she said. „We’re in shock. I couldn’t believe it,“ said Candelario.
While in Iraq, Santiago cleared roads of improvised explosive devices and at least two members of his company were killed, spokeswoman Lt. Col. Candis Olmstead told The New York Times. He was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation.
Since returning from Iraq, Santiago served in the Army Reserves and the Alaska National Guard in Anchorage, Olmstead told the AP. He was serving as a combat engineer in the Guard before his discharge for „unsatisfactory performance,“ said Olmstead. His military rank upon discharge was E3, private 1st class, and he worked one weekend a month with an additional 15 days of training yearly, Olmstead said.
She would not elaborate on his discharge, but the Pentagon said he went AWOL several times and was demoted and discharged.
Still, he’d had some successes during his military career, being awarded a number of medals and commendations including the Iraq Campaign Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
His uncle and aunt in New Jersey were trying to make sense of what they were hearing about Santiago after his arrest at the Fort Lauderdale airport. FBI agents arrived at their house to question them, and reporters swarmed around.
Maria Ruiz told The Record that her nephew had recently become a father to a son and was struggling.
„It was like he lost his mind,“ she said in Spanish of his return from Iraq. „He said he saw things. “
Santiago was flying from Anchorage on a Delta flight and had checked only one piece of luggage, which contained the gun.
Santiago was charged in a domestic violence case in January 2016, damaging a door when he forced his way into a bathroom at his girlfriend’s Anchorage home. The woman told officers he yelled at her to leave, choked her and smacked her on the side of the head, according to charging documents.
A month later municipal prosecutors said he violated the conditions of his release when officers found him at her home during a routine check. He told police he had lived there since he was released from custody the previous month. His Anchorage attorney, Max Holmquist, declined to discuss his client.
Law enforcement officers were at the girlfriend’s home Friday afternoon, and officers guarding the property outside told a reporter who approached the home to step away.
Senator-elect Nelson Cruz, who knew the family and represents the town where they live in Puerto Rico, said he had been talking regularly with Bryan Santiago since the shooting.
„They’re very humble and very Christian people,“ Cruz said of Esteban Santiago’s brother and mother. „They want to tell the families of the victims that they’re extremely saddened and extremely upset by what happened. “
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Danica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska; Rachel D’Oro and Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Alaska; and Lolita C. Baldor and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.
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This story has been corrected to show Santiago served in the Alaska National Guard in Anchorage, not Fairbanks, per new information from the Guard.

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The suspect, identified by police as 26-year-old Esteban Santiago, was in custody and being questioned by the FBI over the shooting that shut down the international airport that is a gateway to the Caribbean.
The incident occurred in the baggage claim area of Terminal 2, as passengers collecting their luggage were interrupted by the alleged gunman, who withdrew a semi-automatic handgun before mowing down his victims.
People on the airport ramp area near terminals 1 and 2 are seen following a shooting incident at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U. S. January 6, 2017. REUTERS/Andrew Innerarity
Witness John Schlicher told Fox News that he was picking up his first bag as he „heard the first shot. As I did, the person right next to me fell to the ground… It was very surreal. „
Law enforcement officers move in to verify the identity of people in this field just outside the airport perimeter following a shooting incident at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U. S. January 6, 2017. REUTERS/Andrew Innerarity
The shooter „was holding a handgun. He was firing into the crowd. Everyone was standing there waiting for the luggage,“ he said.
There was no immediate indication of a motive for the assault, in a country where gun violence is widespread due to the ready availability of firearms.
Santiago had traveled from Alaska to Fort Lauderdale, with a stopover in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the special agent in charge of Miami’s FBI field office, George Piro, told reporters late Friday.
According to CBS he engaged in an argument on one leg of the trip.
„We’re looking at several investigative leads not only in Alaska but other states that we have determined that he’s either traveled to or has connections there,“ Piro said.
The suspect checked a gun inside his luggage, after declaring the weapon with airport authorities, then used it to take down his victims, CNN reported, citing law enforcement sources.
He was detained without law enforcement firing any shots, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel told reporters.
Piro said authorities were „looking at every angle, including the terrorism angle,“ but that it would take time to determine the nature of the attack.
In November, Santiago had walked into the FBI’s Anchorage office exhibiting „erratic behavior“ that led agents to contact local police, who took him to a medical facility for a mental health evaluation, Piro said.
CBS News reported that Santiago claimed he was being forced to fight for the Islamic State group and that the CIA was controlling his mind to make him watch IS videos.
Santiago, a former member of the Puerto Rico and Alaska National Guard, served in Iraq from April 2010 to February 2011. He ended his service in August.
ABC News reported that Santiago, who only reached the rank of private first class, received a general discharge for unsatisfactory performance.
Santiago was also the subject of a child porn investigation several years ago, but no charges were brought, CBS said.
Mayor Barbara Sharief told CNN that the gunman „was a lone shooter, and we have no evidence at this time that he was acting with anyone else. „
Hours after the shooting, which occurred shortly before 1:00 pm (1800 GMT), many passengers still huddled inside the airport awaiting the all-clear.
„We’ve had dozens and dozens of busses transporting what we anticipate to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 10,000 folks,“ airport director Mark Gale said.
Gale said the airport, which had suspended all activity, aims to be operational by 5:00 am (1000 GMT) Saturday.
In addition to those killed and wounded, up to 40 people went to the hospital for various other injuries such as falling and sprains, Israel said.
Cellphone video footage broadcast by the local Fox television affiliate showed one person lying bloodied on the floor, and several others on their knees.
US President Barack Obama expressed „how heartbroken we are for the families who’ve been affected“ during excerpts of an interview with ABC News.
Governor Rick Scott, who rushed to the airport to be briefed, told reporters that those responsible would be „held accountable to the full extent of the law. „
Scott said that he had contacted President-elect Donald Trump, who said that he was „monitoring the terrible situation in Florida. „
„Thoughts and prayers for all. Stay safe! “ Trump tweeted.

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Intelligence officials believe that Russian hacking efforts made against the United States were done in part as retaliation for a World Anti-Doping Agency investigation that led to dozens of Russians being banned from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
The 25-page report , compiled with information from the CIA, FBI and National Security Agency and published Friday, says Russian President Vladimir Putin included the Olympic doping scandal as an example of „US-directed efforts to defame Russia, suggesting he sought to use disclosures to discredit the image of the United States and cast it as hypocritical. “
The report stated that WADA and Olympic athletes have also been targeted in efforts to release or change personal data, deface websites and release emails. It also noted that a group had published the records of athletes with clearance to take typically banned substances for medical reasons.
Russian news media and sports officials have pointed to those records as evidence that Western athletes have been given preferential treatment and are doping.
WADA investigator Richard McLaren found that more than 1,000 Russians were involved in organized doping and that the country corrupted the drug-testing system at the 2012 London and 2014 Sochi Olympics.
„It is impossible to know just how deep and how far back this conspiracy goes,“ McLaren said last month. „For years, international sports competitions have unknowingly been hijacked by Russians. Coaches and athletes have been playing on an uneven field. Sports fans and spectators have been deceived. “
McLaren’s second and final report said the conspiracy involved the Russian Sports Ministry, the country’s anti-doping agency and the Federal Security Service, Russia’s top intelligence agency.
The U. S. report was without classified details that intelligence officials shared with President Barack Obama on Thursday. President-elect Donald Trump was briefed Friday on the report.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Four black people filmed taunting and beating a mentally disabled white man have been refused bail, with a judge in Chicago saying they are accused of such „terrible actions“ that they are a danger to society.
„Where was your sense of decency? “ Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil asked them on Friday during their first court appearance, sounding baffled that the suspects could be charged with such cruelty toward the 18-year-old victim.
The beating was captured on a mobile phone by one of the assailants and has since been viewed millions of times on social media. The graphic footage shows the suspects taunting the victim with profanities against white people and President-elect Donald Trump.
Prosecutors offered new details of the assault, explaining that one of the suspects demanded 300 dollars (£244) from the mother of the victim, who is schizophrenic and has attention-deficit disorder. They also said the beating started in a van when the same attacker became angry that the mother had contacted him asking that her son be allowed to go home.
A prosecutor told the judge that the suspects forced the victim to drink toilet water, kiss the floor and then allegedly stuffed a sock into his mouth and taped it shut as they bound his hands with a belt.
The four are charged with two counts of committing a hate crime – one because of the victim’s race and the other because of his mental disabilities.
On the video, the male suspects use knives to cut the victim’s hair and his sweatshirt. One of the females can be seen laughing. A female also laughs as she punches the victim.
One of the men pulls the cord from the victim’s sweatshirt around the victim’s neck and holds him up while the victim groans in pain, according to a document read in court. The victim can be heard screaming when one of the men walks up to him with a knife and asks if he should „shank“ him.
At one point, the prosecutor said, someone on the video can be heard saying that he did not care if the victim was schizophrenic.
The four suspects were identified as Brittany Covington and Tesfaye Cooper, both of Chicago, and Jordan Hill, of suburban Carpentersville. All are 18. A fourth suspect was identified as Covington’s 24-year-old sister, Tanishia Covington, also of Chicago.
They stood quietly as the prosecutor read the allegations. Some of their relatives also listened, including a woman who wiped tears from her eyes.
Defence lawyers portrayed the suspects as hard-working, responsible and religious. Cooper, for example, takes care of his twin brother, who is in a wheelchair. Tanishia Covington has two small children. Her sister attends college and has a job. Hill, the judge was told, goes to church with his grandmother.
All four have experienced brushes with the law, some for serious and violent crimes.
The incident began on New Year’s Eve, when the victim and alleged assailant Jordan Hill met at a suburban McDonald’s, and then called his parents later to say he was staying with Hill for a sleepover.
Instead, Hill drove the victim around in a stolen van for a couple of days, ending up at a home in Chicago, where two of the other suspects lived, police said.
The victim’s parents reported him missing Monday evening, two days after last hearing from him. The victim eventually escaped and a police officer spotted him wandering down a street, bloodied and confused.
AP

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Heavy gunfire has erupted at a military camp in Ivory Coast’s largest city Abidjan, witnesses said, in a sign that a mutiny could be escalating despite government efforts to bring it to a swift end.
Shooting also took place for a second day in Bouake, Ivory Coast’s second-largest city, as well as in the western city of Man, witnesses said.
The US embassy advised staff to keep off roads and to stay near their homes, while France advised restricting travel to the country’s interior and avoiding military camps in Abidjan.
The mutiny started in Bouake on Friday morning. The government said soldiers are demanding salary increases and a quicker promotion schedule.
Officials were expected to meet with soldiers in Bouake on Saturday, and a cabinet meeting was scheduled.
President Alassane Ouattara had travelled to Ghana for the inauguration of President Nana Akufo-Addo, but was due to return on Saturday evening.
The government used payouts to appease soldiers after similar incidents in 2014.
The unrest points to lingering security worries in Ivory Coast, which boasts Africa’s fastest-growing economy and is eager to move past its history of conflict.
The gunfire on Saturday at the Akouedo camp, located in Abidjan’s residential Cocody district, began at around 8am and lasted for about two hours, according to Louise Kouame, who lives nearby.
„It’s calm for the moment, but we are more and more afraid,“ Ms Kouame said.
Security forces blocked off roads heading towards the camp.
In Man, civilians stayed indoors as mutinous soldiers cruised through the streets, resident Herve Singo said.
A similar scene played out in Bouake, where gunfire began at 3am and continued for several hours, taxi driver Moussa Fofana said.
Appearing on state television on Friday night, defence minister Alain-Richard Donwahi said officials were determined to end what he called a „deplorable“ situation.
AP

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