Esteban Santiago
© McClatchy
Airport shooter admits he was 'mind controlled' by intelligence agency, eyewitness claims there were at least three other "sleepers," shooters, with high-powered rifles shooting into crowd

Eyewitness: "There was like at least three people in there still shooting" after the first guy was caught

Demoted and discharged Alaska National Guard private first class and alleged killer of 5 people at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Esteban Santiago, 26, may have been mind controlled or mentally ill, according to FBI officials.

Santiago, who was arrested in January and waiting to stand trial in March on criminal charges, recently showed up to an F.B.I. office in Anchorage unannounced seeking help.

Santiago told the F.B.I. he thought he was being mind controlled, possibly by the U.S. government or the C.I.A. and admitted hearing voices, which Santiago said told him to study "extremist materials on the Internet," the New York Times reports.

Despite the fact that Santiago himself, his girlfriend, and even co-workers warned authorities of his experiences the F.B.I. failed to detain him before his travels to Florida.

"Records show Santiago had three driver's licenses from Alaska, New York, and Puerto Rico," along with his military I.D., which were all on his person during Friday's shooting, as reported by a local ABC news affiliate.

Just like a Manchurian candidate, Santiago "walked to the baggage claim area, where witnesses said he pulled the trigger and appeared to be aiming at victims' heads. Witnesses said Santiago didn't say a word. He shot his weapon until he ran out of ammunition. He threw the gun down and laid spread-eagle on the ground until a Broward Sheriffs' Office deputy came up to him."

USA Today reports:

Additionally, it is also important to point out that Former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer was present at the airport during the shooting and was live-tweeting details about the situation.

Moreover, an eyewitness to the actual event maintains that after they caught the first guy "there had to be three sleepers [three other shooters]."


"[...] we could see inside literally where the windows — you could see the fire coming from the barrels. There was like at least three people in there still shooting. Like it was like a high-powered rifle, like an AR or something [...]. They was non-stop shooting. Like they just started hitting different people inside the crowd. We had to leave. We had to get on the roof."

* * *

Meanwhile, Reuters reports that attention now turns to the shooter's motive: Federal investigators will on Saturday pursue all angles in determining the motives behind a mass shooting in which an attacker opened fire in a crowded baggage claim area at Fort Lauderdale's airport, killing five people. Piro said FBI investigators had not ruled out terrorism as a reason for the attack and were reviewing the suspect's recent movements. "We will be pursuing every angle to try to determine the motive behind this attack."