Tag Archives: Shooting

Florida airport shooting suspect to appear in federal court

Law enforcement searching for suspects of Ft. Lauderdale shooting

By Zachary Fagenson

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Reuters) – The 26-year-old Iraq war veteran accused of killing five people at a busy Florida airport in the latest U.S. gun rampage was due to appear in a federal court on Monday on charges that could bring him the death penalty.

Esteban Santiago, who had a history of erratic behavior, has admitted to investigators that he planned Friday’s attack in Fort Lauderdale and bought a one-way ticket from his home in Alaska to carry it out, according to a criminal complaint.

Authorities say they have not ruled out terrorism as a motive and that they are investigating whether mental illness played a role. In November, Santiago went to a Federal Bureau of Investigation office in Anchorage and told agents he believed U.S. spies were controlling his mind.

Santiago will be asked if he understands the charges facing him during the hearing scheduled for 11 a.m. EST (1600 GMT) on Monday, and he will be assigned a public defender if he cannot afford his own lawyer.

Bond could be set for Santiago, who is in the Broward County Jail in Fort Lauderdale, but legal experts said he almost certainly would be held without bail.

He could face the death penalty if convicted on charges of carrying out violence at an airport, using a firearm during a violent act, and killing with a firearm. But it may be months before prosecutors reveal what lies in Santiago’s future.

“They’ve then got two weeks to indict him, and then they’ve got to go through the whole death penalty review,” said former federal prosecutor David Weinstein, who is now a partner with Miami law firm Clarke Silverglate.

Executions have been on hold in Florida since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the state’s death penalty laws a year ago. The Florida Supreme Court overturned a rewritten version in October.

Six people had gunshot wounds from the attack, and about three dozen suffered minor injuries in the chaos as passengers and airport workers fled the gunfire.

Authorities say Santiago arrived on a connecting flight from Alaska and retrieved a 9mm semi-automatic handgun from his checked luggage before loading it in a bathroom.

He then returned to the baggage claim area and walked “while shooting in a methodical manner” 10 to 15 times, aiming at his victims’ heads, according to the criminal complaint.

Information surfaced over the weekend that police in Alaska took a handgun from Santiago in November after he told FBI agents there his mind was being controlled by a U.S. intelligence agency. They returned it to him about a month later after a medical evaluation found he was not mentally ill.

Video published by the website TMZ on Sunday showed the gunman walking calmly past the airport’s luggage carousels before wordlessly pulling the handgun from his waistband and shooting at victims who fled or dived to the floor.

Santiago served from 2007 to 2016 in the Puerto Rico and Alaska national guards, including a deployment to Iraq from 2010 to 2011, according to the Pentagon. Relatives have said he acted erratically since returning from Iraq.

The attack was the latest in a series of mass shootings in the United States. Some were inspired by Islamist militants, while others were carried out by loners or the mentally disturbed.

(Reporting by Zachary Fagenson; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

Gunman opens fire at Ft. Lauderdale airport, killing five

Travelers and airport workers evacuated at Ft. Lauderdale airport

By Zachary Fagenson

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Reuters) – A gunman wearing a “Star Wars” T-shirt opened fire at a baggage carousel at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Friday, killing five people before being taken into custody, officials and witnesses said.

Five people died and eight were wounded in the incident, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel told reporters at the airport.

The gunman had arrived on a flight from Canada with a checked gun in his bag, Broward County Commissioner Chip LaMarca said on Twitter. He claimed his bag and went to the bathroom to load the gun before coming out and firing, LaMarca said.

Cellphone video posted on social media showed victims on the floor next to a carousel, with people on their knees attempting to provide aid. At least two had pools of blood from apparent head wounds.

The shooter was unharmed as law enforcement officers never fired a shot, Israel said, adding that it was too early to assign a motive.

“At this point, it looks like he acted alone,” Israel said.

Nonetheless, he said “this scene is considered fluid and active” as police search the rest of the airport.

The shooter was identified as Esteban Santiago, 26, and had a U.S. military identification, according to a spokesman for U.S. Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, who spoke with officials at the Transportation Security Administration.

The shooter, who said nothing as he fired, was wearing a “Star Wars” T-shirt, witnesses told MSNBC.

The Florida attack was the latest in a series of mass shootings that have plagued the United States in recent years, some inspired by militants with an extreme view of Islam, others carried out by loners or the mentally disturbed who have easy access to weapons under U.S. gun laws.

About 90 minutes after the attack, panic broke out anew with passengers and police running frantically about at a separate terminal, but Israel said there were no other reports of shots being fired.

One person was injured trying to evacuate, which may have triggered the later panic, Israel said. Dozens of police sprinted back and forth with automatic weapons drawn, and one officer screamed “Get down, get down!” from a nearby parking garage, a Reuters reporter witnessed.

John Schlicher, who told MSNBC he saw the attack, described the shooter as a slender man who was “directly firing at us” while passengers waited for their bags.

“I put my head down and prayed,” Schlicher said, adding that his wife gave first aid to someone who had been shot in the head. His mother-in-law used her sweater to tend to another victim but it turned out that person was already dead, he said.

The shooter reloaded for another burst of shooting, Schlicher said, but could not say how many bullets were fired.

Mark Lea, another eyewitness, told MSNBC “there was no rhyme or reason to it.”

“He didn’t say anything, he was quiet the whole time, he didn’t yell anything,” Lea said.

Security officials corralled passengers underneath jetways and on the runway apron, according to images on television.

Air traffic was temporarily suspended.

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is the second largest in South Florida, serving as an intercontinental gateway, with Miami International Airport known as the primary airport for international flights in the area.

HISTORY OF SHOOTINGS

Nearly two months ago a former Southwest Airlines worker killed an employee of the company at Oklahoma City’s airport in what police called a premeditated act.

The deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history took place last June, when a gunman apparently inspired by Islamic State killed 53 people and wounded 49 at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

One of the most shocking was in 2012, when a man entered an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, and shot dead 20 first-graders and six adults.

Attackers have exploited security officials’ focus on preventing attacks on airplanes rather than inside airports. In Western Europe and the United States, terminals are easily accessible public spaces.

But at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, widely seen as a model for security, private companies trained by the national security agency use bomb-detectors, profile passengers and question travelers under the watch of police at the airport’s entrance. That may just shift the target to another location at the airport, experts have said, however.

(Reporting by Colleen Jenkins, Jeffrey Dastin, Joseph Ax, Jonathan Allen, Gina Cherelus, Letitia Stein and Laila Kearney; Writing by Daniel Trotta; Editing by James Dalgleish)

At least five dead in Ft. Lauderdale airport shooting

Ft. Lauderdale Airport

By Zachary Fagenson

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Reuters) – A shooter wearing a Star Wars T-shirt opened fire at the baggage carousel at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Friday, killing at least five people before being taken into custody, officials and witnesses said.

Five people died and eight more were wounded in the incident, the local sheriff’s office said.

The shooter, who said nothing, appeared to be a man in his 20s wearing a Star Wars T-shirt who was shot by police as he attempted to reload, MSNBC reported, citing witnesses.

John Schlicher, who told MSNBC he saw the attack, described the shooter as a “slender man” who was “directly firing at us” while passengers waited for their bags to come off the carousel.

“I put my head down and prayed,” Schlicher said, adding that his wife gave first aid to someone who had been shot in the head.

His mother-in-law used her sweater to tend to another victim but it turned out that victim was already dead, Schlicher said.

The shooter reloaded once for a second burst of shooting, Schlicher said, but he could not say how many bullets were fired.

The shooting took place at the Terminal 2 baggage claim, said a post on the airport’s Twitter account.

Mark Lea, another eyewitness, told MSNBC “there was no rhyme or reason to it.”

“He didn’t say anything, he was quiet the whole time, he didn’t yell anything,” Lea said.

Security officials corralled passengers underneath jetways and on the runway apron, according to images on cable news networks.

Ari Fleischer, a former press secretary for U.S. President George W. Bush, said on Twitter shots were fired and “everyone is running.”

“All seems calm now but the police aren’t letting anyone out of the airport – at least not the area where I am,” he said.

A woman tended to a bleeding, seated man outside an airport building, according to a photo posted on Twitter by a Michigan information technology company.

The Broward Sheriff’s Office received a call at about 12:55 p.m. local time about shots fired at 100 Terminal Drive at the airport, the department wrote on Twitter.

All services were temporarily suspended, the airport’s Twitter feed said.

Florida Governor Rick Scott was traveling to Fort Lauderdale to be briefed by law enforcement, his office said in a statement.

The FBI’s Miami office was “aware of the situation” and in contact with local authorities, a spokesman said in an email. No further information was immediately available.

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is the second largest in South Florida, serving as an intercontinental gateway, with Miami International Airport known as the primary airport for international flights in the area.

Some 20 miles (30 km) north of Miami, the Fort Lauderdale airport is near cruise line terminals at Port Everglades.

(Reporting by Colleen Jenkins, Jonathan Allen, Gina Cherlus, Letitia Stein and Laila Kearney; Writing by Daniel Trotta; Editing by JS Benkoe and James Dalgleish)

Islamic State claims responsibility for shootout at Jordanian castle

Jordanian policemen stand guard in the vicinity of Kerak Castle where armed gunmen carried out an attack, in the city of Karak, Jordan.

AMMAN (Reuters) – Islamic State militants claimed responsibility on Tuesday for a shootout at a Crusader castle in the southern Jordanian city of Karak in which at least nine people including a Canadian tourist were killed.

An Islamic State statement said four IS fighters undertook the operation on Sunday that ended in their deaths. Jordanian officials have not said who they suspect in the attack though security sources said the perpetrators were Jordanian nationals.

Jordanian police said late on Sunday that they had killed four “terrorist outlaws” after flushing them out of the castle where they were holed up after an exchange of fire that lasted several hours. Security forces were able to release around 10 tourists unharmed. At least 30 people were taken to hospital.

Interior Minister Salamah Hamad said on Monday at least five suicide belts were found, together with an ammunition cache, automatic weapons and explosives in a hideout in a house in the desert town of Qatranah, 30 km (20 miles) northeast of Karak.

The gunmen had fled to Karak after an exchange of fire with the police, Hamad said. Based on the quantities of explosives and weapons, “I don’t think the target was just Karak castle, it’s more,” he added. He would not elaborate, saying disclosing details at this stage could imperil national security.

Jordan has been relatively unscathed by the uprisings, civil wars and Islamist militancy that have swept the Middle East since 2011, but maintains a high level of vigilance.

However, it is among the few Arab states that have taken part in a U.S.-led air campaign against Islamic State militants holding territory in Syria and Iraq. Many Jordanians oppose their country’s involvement, saying it has led to the killing of fellow Muslims and raised security threats inside Jordan.

Last November three U.S. military trainers were shot dead when their car was fired on by a Jordanian army member at the gate of a military base. Washington disputed the official Jordanian version that they were shot at for failing to stop, and said it did not rule out political motives.

(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi in Amman and Mostafa Hashem in Cairo; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

A year after San Bernardino attack, investigators still seek answers

Law enforcement looking over evidence

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – One year after two Islamic militants shot dead 14 people in a massacre in Southern California, FBI investigators are still seeking to answer key questions such as the location of the married couple’s computer hard drive and whether anyone helped them, an official said.

Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, 29, opened fire on Dec. 2 during a party and training session for San Bernardino County employees, who were co-workers of Farook, injuring 22 people in addition to the 14 killed.

It was one of the deadliest attacks by militants in the United States since the Sept. 11, 2001, hijacked plane attacks.

Authorities have said that U.S.-born Farook and Malik, a native of Pakistan who lived most of her life in Saudi Arabia, were inspired by Islamic extremism. The couple, who were parents of a 6-month-old daughter, both died in a shootout with police four hours after the massacre.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is still seeking to determine if anyone assisted the couple, such as in financing the attack or helping to plan for it, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.

“While we have not charged anyone with providing support to Farook and Malik, we certainly will continue to investigate to determine if they were supported in any way,” she said in a telephone interview.

To that end, the FBI is still hoping to find the hard drive from the couple’s computer, Eimiller said.

A search by FBI divers in the weeks after the attack of a small lake at a park where Farook and Malik stopped in the hours after the shooting failed to turn up the hard drive.

In addition, the FBI still has an 18-minute gap in accounting for the whereabouts of Farook and Malik in the hours they spent driving around San Bernardino in a sport utility vehicle after the attack at the city’s Inland Regional Center.

The couple left three pipe bombs at the center, in an apparent attempt to harm emergency workers caring for the wounded, according to authorities. The couple approached the center after the attack and might have been trying to detonate one of the devices remotely, Eimiller said.

Several public events are scheduled for Friday in San Bernardino to mark the one-year anniversary of the attack.

Elected officials and emergency responders who handled the attack will attend a ceremony at a San Bernardino blood bank on Friday morning. In the evening, another event is expected to draw at least 2,000 participants to an arena in the city.

(Editing by Leslie Adler)

Minnesota officer charged with manslaughter in death of black motorist US

Diamond Reynolds, girlfriend of Philando Castile, weeps as people gather to protest the fatal shooting of Castile by Minneapolis area police during a traffic stop on Wednesday, in St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.,

By Rory Carroll

(Reuters) – A Minnesota police officer was charged with second-degree manslaughter on Wednesday for the fatal shooting of a black motorist that sparked outrage when the moments that followed were broadcast on social media.

St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez broke the law when he shot and killed Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, a St. Paul suburb, during a traffic stop, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi told reporters. Yanez’s attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.

The prosecutor said Yanez feared that Castile was reaching for a gun he had just calmly said he had in his possession, moments before being shot seven times by the officer.

A moaning Castile’s final words after being shot were, “I wasn’t reaching for it,” according to Choi, who said the conversation was picked up by a microphone Yanez was wearing.

Starting about 40 seconds after the shooting, Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, who was sitting in the vehicle’s passenger seat, streamed images of a bloody Castile on Facebook live, and the recording went viral on social media.

The incident began a little after 9 p.m. local time on July 6, when Yanez pulled Castile over on suspicion of involvement of a robbery, Choi said. Castile had no involvement in the robbery, he added.

Castile then, in a non-threatening manner, told the officer about the firearm he was carrying, according to Choi.

Yanez interrupted and replied, “OK,” and placed his hand on his gun, then said, “OK, don’t reach for it then.”

Castile tried to respond but was interrupted by Yanez, who said, “Don’t pull it out.”

Castile and Reynolds both responded that he was not pulling the gun out.

Yanez then screamed, “Don’t pull it out,” drew his own gun, and fired seven shots in rapid succession.

When officers and paramedics were moving Castile, they found a 40-caliber semiautomatic handgun in his right front pocket that had a loaded magazine but no round in chamber.

At the hospital, Castile’s wallet contained a driver’s license and his permit to carry a pistol.

“I have given officer Yanez every benefit of the doubt on his use of deadly force,” Choi said during a press conference on Wednesday.

“But I cannot allow the death of a motorist who was lawfully carrying a firearm under these facts and circumstances to go unaccounted for.”

Yanez has also been charged with two felony counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm that endangered the safety of Reynolds and her four-year-old daughter, who was also in the car at the time.

Asked why he did not charge Yanez with more serious offense, Choi said this was the “highest, most provable offense” beyond a reasonable doubt based on the facts of the case.

Choi said he met with Castile’s family on Tuesday night and informed them of the charges against Yanez.

“The family is pleased with that recommendation because we know what type of charges could be brought about by the statutes of Minnesota laws,” Castile’s mother, Valerie Castile, told reporters. “We’re here in solidarity, my family and I, to support that decision.”

She also called for peace as the legal process continues.

Castile was remembered as a gentle man who was so smart he was considered over-qualified for his cafeteria supervisor job at a Minnesota public school, where kids loved him, according to friends, family and others who knew him.

Because the case is ongoing, Choi said he would not release the video and audio from the squad car.

Yanez will make his first appearance in criminal court on Friday afternoon in Ramsay County Law Enforcement Center.

(Reporting by Rory Carroll; Editing by Alan Crosby and Steve Orlofsky)

Two police officers shot in Pennsylvania, one dies: reports

By Gina Cherelus

(Reuters) – Two police officers were shot in southwestern Pennsylvania and one died early on Thursday after they responded to a call about a domestic dispute, local media reported.

Moments after the two officers approached the home in the town of Canonsburg, about 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Pittsburgh, police said the suspect opened fire in an ambush-style attack around 3:30 a.m. local time, according to local CBS affiliate KDKA.

Washington County Coroner Tim Warco told KDKA that one officer, who was taken to Canonsburg Hospital, had died, and that the other was flown to a hospital in Pittsburgh.

“Obviously, it’s very sketchy. At this point, it’s still an active scene in search of the shooter,” Warco said.

Police told residents to remain in their homes as they searched for the gunman in Canonsburg.

There were no immediate details on the other officer’s condition, the names of the officers, or any possible suspect.

Authorities said schools would open two hours later than usual as the investigation continued. Some roads were closed.

Police officials were not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Gina Cherelus in New York; Editing by Toby Chopra and Bernadette Baum)

Rivers swollen by Hurricane Matthew inundate North Carolina towns

A flooded church is pictured after Hurricane Matthew passes in Lumberton, North Carolina

By Gene Cherry

KINSTON, N.C. (Reuters) – Authorities in North Carolina helped residents evacuate on Tuesday as floodwaters inundated some towns and threatened others in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, which killed 14 people in the state.

Governor Pat McCrory, who announced the new death toll, warned of “extremely dangerous” conditions in the next 72 hours in central and eastern parts of North Carolina, where several rivers are in major flood stage and nearing record levels.

Wendy Key, 40, fled with her six children to a shelter in Kinston to escape flooding from the Neuse River, located about a mile from their rented home, which she had just redecorated and stocked with a new refrigerator and stove. Her brother told her the water was now waist-deep in the house.

“The water started coming pretty quickly and we had to get up and get ready in no time,” Key said. “It was very alarming and disturbing.”

Matthew, the most powerful Atlantic storm since 2007, killed at least 1,000 people in Haiti last week before barreling up the U.S. southeastern coast and killing more than 20 people in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.

The storm dumped more than a foot (30 cm) of rain in areas of North Carolina already soaked from heavy September rainfall, prompting concern that the state could see its worst flooding since Hurricane Floyd in September 1999.

That storm caused record floods in North Carolina and was blamed for 35 deaths, 7,000 destroyed homes and more than $3 billion in damages in the state.

The flooding from Matthew prompted President Barack Obama to declare on Monday that a major disaster exists in North Carolina, making federal recovery funding available in 31 counties, McCrory said.

Emergency officials have conducted more than 2,000 rescues in the state, where 32 school systems are closed, major highways remain blocked and nearly 4,000 people have taken refuge in shelters.

Officials are monitoring a number of overtopped or breaching dams in addition to the threat of inland flooding from rivers, the governor’s office said.

Two of the additional deaths reported by McCrory on Tuesday were of people found in vehicles submerged in water. Three people are considered missing, he said.

The governor urged residents to heed evacuation orders and to avoid driving through flooded areas.

“Too many people have died,” he told reporters at the state’s Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh. “And we don’t want any more to die.”

He said a man was fatally shot by a state highway patrol officer in Lumberton on Monday night after a confrontation occurred during rescue efforts in a flooded area.

McCrory said he did not yet have full details about the incident, which is being investigated by state police.

(Writing by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Bill Trott)

Six-year-old boy shot at South Carolina school dies from wound

n Anderson County sheriff's deputy stands outside of Townville Elementary School after a shooting in Townville, South Carolina,

(Reuters) – A 6-year-old South Carolina boy wounded in a schoolyard shooting died on Saturday, a coroner said, a day after a teenage suspect was charged with murdering his own father and wounding the boy, a teacher and another student.

The boy, Jacob Hall, was shot on Wednesday at Townville Elementary School in Townville, South Carolina after the 14-year-old suspect is alleged to have crashed his pickup truck into a fence around the school and opened fire.

“Unfortunately he’s lost the battle, at 12:56 p.m. today” at a Greenville hospital, Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore said by telephone. He said he would be transported for an autopsy on Sunday.

Jacob had been on life support after a bullet ripped his femoral artery, causing blood loss that led to major brain injury, his family has said.

The suspect was charged in 10th Judicial Circuit court on Friday with one count of murder and three counts of attempted murder. The hearing was behind closed doors because the teenager is a juvenile.

Authorities say the suspect shot and killed his father, Jeffrey Osborne, 47, as the man watched television at their home about 2 miles (3 km) from the school.

The teenager then drove to the school where he shot Jacob, another 6-year-old boy and a teacher, police have said.

Authorities said they did not know of any link between the shooter, who was home-schooled, and the victims.

Boy, 6, fights for his life after South Carolina school shooting

Sheriffs and officers at the scene of the South Carolina School Shooting

By Harriet McLeod

CHARLESTON, S.C. (Reuters) – A first grader who was shot and wounded by a 14-year-old boy accused of killing his father before he opened fire outside a South Carolina elementary school is “fighting for his life,” a fire chief and the boy’s family said on Thursday.

Jacob Hall, 6, was struck in the leg on Wednesday afternoon during a shooting spree that also wounded another boy and a first-grade teacher at Townville Elementary School, about 100 miles (160 km) northeast of Atlanta.

Police said the teenager crashed a pickup truck into a fence around the rural school’s playground after he fatally shot his father, Jeffrey DeWitt Osborne, 47, at their home about 2 miles (3 km) away. The teen, who has not been named, is in custody.

“I hate my life,” he said before firing a handgun at the school, the Greenville News reported, citing the aunt of a 6-year-old girl who was headed outside for recess at the time.

The incident was the latest in a series of shootings at U.S. schools that has fueled debate about access to guns in America. Many schools have beefed up security precautions since 2012, when a gunman shot and killed 20 children and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

Hall’s family said in a statement the 6-year-old was a “very sick little boy.” The message, provided through the Greenville Health System Children’s Hospital where he remains in critical condition, said a bullet tore through his femoral artery, causing massive blood loss that led to a “major brain injury.”

Billy McAdams, chief of the Townville Volunteer Fire Department, choked up on Thursday as he asked for prayers for “little Jacob,” whom he had helped treat at the scene.

“He’s still fighting for his life,” McAdams told a news conference.

Teacher Meghan Hollingsworth, who was shot in the shoulder, and the other boy, also 6, according to media reports, were treated and released.

McAdams credited fellow first responders and the school’s staff for taking action to prevent another school massacre. Hollingsworth shepherded students inside to safety and urged medical staff to care for the injured children before her, he said.

Jamie Brock, a 30-year veteran of the Townville Volunteer Fire Department, was unarmed when he confronted the shooter and pinned him down for police, McAdams said.

Brock has declined media interviews, saying he wanted the focus to remain on the victims.

“The true heroes of yesterday’s senseless tragedy are the teachers that put their lives on the line to protect the students,” Brock said in a statement read by McAdams at the news conference. “This will not take us down.”

Authorities said they did not know of any connection between the shooter and the school victims but had ruled out terrorism and ethnicity as motivating factors.

The suspect, who was home-schooled, was emotional when he called his grandparents Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

His grandmother “could not make out what he was saying because he was crying and upset, and so they went to the house, and that’s when she discovered her son and called 911,” coroner Greg Shore told reporters. The teenager was gone.

His mother offered no insight into his motive in a statement released to media on her behalf on Thursday.

“Our entire family is absolutely shocked and saddened by the senseless actions of our son and grandson,” the statement said.

(Additional reporting Brendan O’Brien in Milwaukee; Writing by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Bill Trott, Lisa Shumaker and Paul Tait)