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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© Source: http://www.timeslive.co.za/world/2017/01/07/Five-dead-in-Fort-Lauderdale-airport-shooting1
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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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