Fort Lauderdale Airport Shooting: Suspect Esteban Santiago Had Alleged Ties to Islamic State

The suspect claims he was being forced to wage jihad by Islamic State.

At the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, "Esteban Santiago identified as Fort Lauderdale airport shooter."

Also, at London's Daily Mail, "Pictured: The Fort Lauderdale 'air rage' gunman who 'argued with passengers' on his flight before he retrieved his handgun from checked luggage and then executed five people in baggage claim."

And at FrontPage Magazine, "Esteban Santiago-Ruiz: Airport Shooter Claimed He Was Forced to Fight for ISIS":

#UPDATE via #iAWACS Ft Lauderdale shooter was posting on Jihadi forums when he was 17yrs old in 2007 - Now closed twitter acct @Esteban00903 pic.twitter.com/h17HK3mOzb

— JΞSTΞR ✪ ΔCTUAL³³º¹ (@th3j35t3r) January 6, 2017

Santiago told the FBI in November that he was being forced to fight for ISIS...https://t.co/7T97Nf95D9#FtLauderdale #EstebanSantiago pic.twitter.com/3O14CgdyYG

— Ethan Ralph (@TheRalphRetort) January 6, 2017

Esteban Santiago-Ruiz: Airport Shooter Claimed He Was Forced to Fight for ISIS https://t.co/kmHi1tvXGT pic.twitter.com/WBO6QkgeyO

— Jewhadi™ (@JewhadiTM) January 7, 2017

Airport shooter motive appears to be a mixture of mental illness and Islamist fantasies. Toxic combination.

— Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) January 7, 2017

Details are still emerging about airport shooter Esteban Santiago-Ruiz. His shooting spree at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport has claimed 5 lives and wounded 8 more people.

This is a developing story so we will likely know a lot more by the evening and by the next day than we do today. The above photo has been circulating on social media, for example. It may be that of the gunman.

The media is rolling with the usual "mental illness" narrative. This is the same excuse often used for Islamic terrorists. There's no proven connection to Islam yet, except this particular part of his background.

Law enforcement said he was found with an active military ID and is an American citizen, born in New Jersey. Previous known addresses include Penuelas, Puerto Rico and Anchorage, Alaska.

They add that in November 2016, he walked into an FBI office in Anchorage claiming that he was being forced to fight for ISIS. He was sent to a psychiatric hospital.

In 2011 or 2012, he was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations for child porn. Three weapons and a computer were seized, but there was not enough evidence to prosecute, according to law enforcement sources.

It's possible that he is mentally ill. It's possible that he's a Muslim terrorist. Or both. Or neither.

More at Memeorandum.

And especially, the Newark Star-Ledger, "N.J. aunt of Ft. Lauderdale airport shooting suspect: 'He lost his mind' in Iraq."