FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The brother of the man who has been tentatively named as the suspect in a deadly shooting at a Florida airport said the suspect had been receiving psychological treatment while living in Alaska.
Bryan Santiago told The Associated Press that his family got a call in recent months from 26-year-old Esteban Santiago's girlfriend alerting them to the situation.
Bryan Santiago said he didn't know what his brother was being treated for and that they never talked about it over the phone.
He said Esteban Santiago was born in New Jersey but moved to the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico when he was 2 years old. He said that Esteban Santiago grew up in the southern coastal town of Penuelas and served with the island's National Guard for a couple of years.
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Esteban Santiago was deployed to Iraq in 2010 and spent a year there with the 130th Engineer Battalion, the 1013th engineer company out of Aguadilla, according to Puerto Rico National Guard spokesman Maj. Paul Dahlen.
Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida said that the gunman was carrying a military ID that identified him as Esteban Santiago, but that it was unclear whether the ID was his. Nelson gave no further information on the suspect.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Cox Media Group
