The man responsible for a deadly shooting in the Fort Lauderdale airport has been reported to have been suffering from mental health issues, according to Fox 5. Authorities said that he had been receiving medical treatment at his home in Alaska before the shooting in Florida.
Family members, including his brother in Puerto Rico and his aunt and uncle in New Jersey, said that after Esteban Santiago, 26, came back from his tour in Iraq, he wasn’t quite the same. According to his uncle, “he wasn’t feeling good,” and his aunt later said “It was like he lost his mind.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
After Santiago was deployed in 2010 as part of the Puerto Rico National Guard, he spent a year with an engineering battalion in Iraq. Most recently Santiago was living in Anchorage and serving in the Anchorage National Guard and the Army Reserves. However, despite being promoted during his time serving, he was eventually demoted and discharged for “unsatisfactory performance.”
Back in November, Santiago went to an FBI office and said that he was being forced to watch Islamic State videos. Santiago said that the government was controlling his mind and forcing him to watch the videos. It was after that he sought out help.
“We have not talked for the past three weeks,” Bryan Santiago, his brother, said. “That’s a bit unusual … I’m in shock. He was a serious person … He was a normal person.”
Before he got on an airplane and decided to start shooting in the Ft. Lauderdale airport, Santiago was going through a difficult time at home in Alaska. According to authorities, he had recently been involved in a domestic dispute, and, according to his aunt, he had recently become a father and was struggling.
Next: Joe McKnight Shooting Details Revealed | Dylann Roof Will Represent Himself In Charleston Church Shooting Case | Missing 8-Day-Old Baby Found After Mother Was Shot and Killed
[H/T Fox 5]
