FBI: Ft. Lauderdale shooting suspect left newborn in vehicle while meeting with Anchorage agents

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — When 26-year-old Esteban Santiago met with FBI agents on Nov. 7 about hearing voices in his head, he left his newborn child outside in his vehicle in freezing temperatures but was not arrested, officials said Saturday.

Santiago was arrested Friday at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International airport after allegedly shooting five people to death and injuring six others with a handgun he had brought to Florida in his checked luggage.

Marlon Ritzman, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Anchorage, Alaska, office, described the meeting with Santiago during a media briefing Saturday.

“There has been much media speculation about Mr. Santiago’s interaction with our office,” he said. “I want to clear up as much as I can.

“In November 2016, Mr. Santiago walked into the Anchorage FBI office to report that his mind was being controlled by U.S. intelligence agencies. During the interview, Mr. Santiago appeared agitated, incoherent and made disjointed statements.”

Santiago told agents he “did not want to hurt anyone,” but out of caution, the FBI contacted the Anchorage Police Department, Ritzman said.

The man had a loaded magazine on him, but left his handgun in his vehicle while meeting with FBI agents, Anchorage Police Chief Chris Tolley said.

When agents and officers went to the vehicle to retrieve the gun, they found Santiago’s newborn child in the unattended vehicle, Tolley said.

Officials did not say how long the child had been alone in the vehicle and did not explain why Santiago was not arrested in connection with the incident.

Video: Passengers duck, hide at airport

Photos: Shots fired at Fort Lauderdale airport

According to the National Weather Service, the high temperature in Anchorage on Nov. 7, was 39 degrees.

“His girlfriend at the time was contacted – we retrieved the child and she was contacted and came and picked the child up,” Ritzman said.

The APD took Santiago’s handgun while he was taken for a mental evaluation at a local hospital, Tolley said.

On Nov. 30, he requested to have it returned but officials did not release it to him that day, Tolley said.

Police released the handgun to Santiago on Dec. 8, he added.

Neither Ritzman nor Tolley were able to give details on the weapon or say if it was the same handgun used in Friday’s attack.

Answering questions about why a handgun would be returned to someone exhibiting serious mental health issues, U.S. District Attorney Karen Loeffler said police and FBI agents had no legal reason not to.

“Law enforcement operates within the statutes that are given to them,” she said. “As far as I know, there was – this was not somebody who would be prohibited based on the information that they had.

“Absent a law allowing them to keep the gun … under federal law there wouldn’t have been a basis that I’m aware of.”

As to the question of why Santiago was not placed on a no-fly list because of his mental health status, Ritzman said there was no legal basis to do so.

“I want to be clear, during our initial investigation, we found no ties to terrorism,” Ritzman said. “He broke no laws when he came into our office making disjointed comments about mind control.”

Santiago is currently being held at the Broward County Jail in connection with Friday’s shooting.

Cox Media Group