Updated Friday, Jan. 6, 2017, 3:50 p.m. EST: The gunman behind the shooting at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida has been identified as Esteban Santiago, NBC News reports.
Santiago is described as a 26-year-old New Jersey native. Senior law-enforcement sources told the network that Santiago had a military ID on him, although it has not yet been determined whether the identification belonged to him.
According to the New York Daily News, Santiago also had a concealed-carry permit and a Florida driver's license. Law-enforcement officials have yet to determine a motive for the shooting but so far believe that Santiago acted alone, the Daily News notes.
“We have no evidence at this time that he was acting with anyone else,” Broward County Mayor Barbara Sharief told CNN. "He is currently in custody and we're investigating."
Earlier:
Police say that five people were killed and eight people were injured in a shooting at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport in Florida on Friday afternoon, the Washington Post reports. The shooter remains in custody.
"At first we thought it was firecrackers," Mark Lea, 53, told MSNBC, according to NBC News. "Everyone started screaming and running. The shooter made his way down through baggage claim. He had what looked like a 9 mm and emptied his entire clip. People were trying to run."
Lea told the network that the shooting stopped only because the gunman ran out of bullets.
"He was holding a black handgun and he was just shooting randomly into the crowd," another traveler, John Schicher, told MSNBC. "There were elderly people who were shot and killed; there were two people to my left and two people to my right that were shot."
Schicher, who was at the airport with his wife and mother-in-law, said that the shooter did not say anything and did not appear to be targeting anyone. He added that the shooter had time to reload his gun before police stopped him.
"He walked over and he was right in our area, like, within just feet of us, shooting people. I didn't know if I would be shot or if my wife or my mother-in-law would, either," he said.
According to the Post, authorities first got a call about the shooting just before 1 p.m. The eight people who were injured have been taken to an area hospital, but it is unclear whether all of those individuals were hurt by the gunfire.
All flights have been temporarily suspended in light of the shooting, airport officials said. The shooting started in Terminal 2, which handles arrivals and departures for Delta and Air Canada, the Post notes. Flights that were already within 50 miles of the airport were being allowed to land, but other scheduled flights will be delayed or diverted.
Fort Lauderdale officials are helping with law-enforcement’s response in the area, which is handled by Broward County. Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also arrived on the scene Friday.
“We have our units on site and around the perimeter to provide assistance and support, and we remain ready, willing and able to provide additional assistance, support and resources,” Fort Lauderdale Mayor John Seller said in a statement. “Our community extends its thoughts, prayers and support to the victims and their families.”
President Barack Obama has been briefed on the situation and will be kept updated as more information is available, Ned Price, spokesperson for the National Security Council, said, according to the Post.
Earlier:
A suspect is in custody after a Friday-afternoon shooting incident at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida.
According to NBC News, the Broward County, Fla., sheriff said that the shooting left "multiple people dead" and several others injured.
The incident reportedly unfolded at baggage claim inside Terminal 2 of the airport. The airport gets more than 73,000 travelers each day.
Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, who was in the airport at the time of the shooting, sent out two tweets relating to the incident.
Read more at NBC News.