Fort Lauderdale airport shooting: Five people shot dead by lone gunman in Florida

Tom Powell7 January 2017

Five people have been shot dead by a lone gunman at an airport in Florida, officials said.

Fort Lauderdale international airport announced there was an "ongoing incident" in the Terminal 2 baggage claim area just before 1pm local time (6pm GMT).

A total of five people were killed and eight injured, according to local police officials. One person was detained in custody unharmed.

News helicopters hovering over the scene showed hundreds of people standing on the tarmac as an ambulance drove by and numerous law enforcement officers rushed to the scene.

Five people were killed in the attack
AP

Broward County commissioner Chip LaMarca said the gunman was a passenger on a Canadian flight and had checked in a gun with his baggage.

He said the man pulled the gun from his bag, loaded it in a bathroom and then opened fire on passengers.

Former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer tweeted that he was at the airport when shots were fired and "everyone is running".

A witness told NBC News the gunman was shot by police less than a minute after the shooting began.

Armed personnel arrive at the airport
AP

"He was gunned down by police," said Mark Lea from Minneapolis.

"It was absolutely surreal," he said.

"People were scared and frantically running to avoid being shot. People were tripping over each other. They were trying to make a fast exit out of the door."

Senator Bill Nelson of Florida claimed the gunman was carrying military ID in the name of Esteban Santiago, but that it was unclear whether it was his.

"We don't know a motive at this point," Mr Nelson said. "This could well be someone who is mentally deranged, or in fact it could be someone who had a much more sinister motive that we have to worry about every day, and that is terrorism. We can't conclude that."

People stand on the tarmac at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport after a shooter opened fire inside a terminal
AP

The airport suspended operations as law enforcement authorities rushed to the scene and emergency medical workers treated at least one bleeding victim on the tarmac.

President Barack Obama was briefed on the shooting by his Homeland Security adviser, the White House.

President-elect Donald Trump said he was monitoring the situation and that he had spoken with Mr Scott.

Mr Trump tweeted: "Monitoring the terrible situation in Florida. Just spoke to Governor Scott. Thoughts and prayers for all. Stay safe!"

Police officers stand on the perimeter road following the shooting
AP

Video posted on Instagram appeared to show several people wounded in the baggage claim area of the terminal. One person appeared to be lying in a pool of blood with a head wound.

Paramedics could be seen treating a bleeding victim outside the airport. Hundreds of people stood on the tarmac as an ambulance drove by.

Broward County mayor Barbara Sharief told CNN authorities that a lone shooter was responsible for the attack and had been taken into custody.

Flights already in the air and headed for the airport were delayed or diverted, and those that had yet to take off for Fort Lauderdale were held on the ground.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT