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LIVE COVERAGE: Five dead, eight wounded in shooting at Ft. Lauderdale airport

Police Tape (Shutterstock.com)
David Ferguson
January 06, 2017

Reports are coming in of gunfire at the Ft. Lauderdale airport in Florida.

Former George W. Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer tweeted from the scene:

Business Insider listed reports from other witnesses.

UPDATE: NBC News reports that at least nine people were shot and one person is dead.

UPDATE:The New York Daily News reported that the incident took place in the baggage claim area of the airport. One person is confirmed dead, nine others injured. The shooter is reportedly in custody.

UPDATE: CNBC is confirming that three people are dead.

UPDATE: The Associated Press reports that Broward County Mayor Barbara Sharief says the attack was carried out by a lone shooter.

UPDATE: All flights in and out of the Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport have been canceled or rerouted.

UPDATE: Instagram footage from the scene showed passengers milling around on the tarmac and calling loved ones.

#fortlauderdale

A video posted by Gene Messina (@gmessina121) on

UPDATE: CNN is reporting that five people are dead.

UPDATE: The shooter has been identified as Esteban Santiago, 26. He reportedly carried a military ID and weapon.

UPDATE: Some additional event appears to be taking place. People on the tarmac are running, and the airport has issued a fresh "Shelter in place" warning.

UPDATE: Mayor Sharief told CNN that a witness at the airport reported hearing a sound like gunshots in the airport parking deck. Police are currently sweeping the deck, but no second shooter is believed to be on the premises.

The number of injured has been raised to 13.

UPDATE: MSNBC is reporting that the gunman flew into the airport on an Air Canada flight. His weapon was in checked bag which he retrieved in baggage claim.

A witness said that Santiago was calm and silent as he shot people in the head. He had time to reload his weapon and fire a second volley of shots. Santiago was injured by police as they took him into custody. He is currently receiving treatment.

UPDATE: CBS News reports that Santiago had a concealed carry permit and a "minor criminal history."

UPDATE: At a 3:30 p.m. press conference, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said that the shooting incident began shortly before 1 p.m. and that five people were killed and eight more injured. He and regional FBI Director George Piro declined to give any information about the shooter, his weapon or the chain of events inside Terminal 2 pending an investigation.

Thousands of people are still trapped inside the airport but officials say everything is under control and that the airport will be evacuated in a systematic and orderly fashion.

However, reporters from CNN and Fox News both spoke to people inside the building who were huddle in closets or hidden in other areas and many of them seemed bewildered as to what was actually going on and whether it was safe to emerge from hiding.

A man who spoke to CNN said he was receiving "very little guidance" from airport security or employees about what he should be doing and where he should be going.

Aviation director Mark Gale said at the press conference that he's not certain when the airport will reopen but that every effort is being made to evacuate people in an orderly fashion.

Israel would neither confirm nor deny reports that Santiago retrieved his bag from baggage claim, went into a nearby men's room to load it, then came out and began to shoot.

Santiago flew into Ft. Lauderdale from Alaska, but earlier reports identifying the airline as Air Canada are now believed to be wrong. His gun was legally checked in his suitcase. He is a licensed concealed carry permit holder.

UPDATE: Santiago is a former Army National Guard combat engineer. He was honorably discharged from the Army Reserve in December. WPLG's Glenna Milberg told ABC News that he has an open criminal record and is due in court in Anchorage, AL in March for criminal mischief.

He was taken into custody unharmed. He reportedly got involved in an in-flight altercation with another passenger. He dropped a bag on the north side of the airport that is being investigated by FBI officials and the Broward County Sheriff's Department.

More on this story as it develops.

Watch live coverage of this story, embedded below:

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