Thread: Ft. Lauderdale shooter used alias ‘Aashik Hammad’ and recorded Islamic music in socia

Interesting, let's see how this gets explained..

January 8, 2017
Ft. Lauderdale shooter used alias ‘Aashik Hammad’ and recorded Islamic music in social media

By Thomas Lifson


The media and law enforcement have told us over and over that Esteban Santiago is merely a madman, so the Fort Lauderdale horror is more like a Columbine, not a Brussels Airport mass slaughter. But thanks to detective work that should be the sort of review the FBI would undertake if somebody came in and spoke about voices in his head and ISIS, we know that Santiago showed every sign of converting to Islam long before his deployment to Iraq.

Pamela Geller cites a Got News report and gets right to the point:

Estaban Sanitago’s aka Aashiq Hammad journey to Islam goes back at least 10 years. His MySpace page is eyeopening. More news the emedia ignores, censors, scrubs – thanks to Charles Johnson over Got News.
As for mental illness, that is now the default cover for Islam. It was “lone wolf” until the number of ‘lone wolves’ made the narrative ridiculous and absurd. Now Islam is a mental illness.

The evidence presented by Got News, complete with images of public records, ties Esteban Santiago directly to a MySpace account created in the name Aashik Hammad, where three Islamic songs recorded by Santiago were available. I urge readers to examine the evidence themselves, and then imagine being an Anchorage FBI official confronted with a young man who heard voices in his head. Would you try to obtain a social media profile? I understand that law enforcement in general, and the FBI in particular, are pretty good at checking social media profiles these days.

So, if the FBI discovered someone is crazy, and is also a Muslim, is that a danger sign? I suspect that the doctrine used by the FBI currently does not allow agents to make such a connection, even though the Koran has many injunctions toward violent jihad.

In any event, with so many people wondering why Santiago was allowed to bring a gun on a flight, isn’t it interesting that nobody in law enforcement and nobody in the major media has yet connected Santiago and Islam publicly? I suspect that the public would be even more critical of the failure to prevent Santiago’s evil. The problem is that the awful truth is unspeakable by most of our government officials and media: Islamic doctrine contains multiple, direct incitements to violence against infidels, and Jews in particular.

Who is more vulnerable to influence by these commands than a mentally ill man? Pamela Geller's observation that mental illness is a cover rests on the foundation that most of the acts of cruelty of jihadists seem to be insane by the standards of contemporary Western Civilization. But in the Islamic world, the example of Mohammed -- the most perfect man ever born and a model for all Muslims, according to Islamic doctrine -- teaches that hearing voices is a sacred act.

Jihad motivation could explain why Santiago made such a long journey – close to the longest possible journey within the continental United States – to be in Fort Lauderdale. The catchment area of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport happens to be the home of many Jews. If one were choosing the airport with the highest concentration of Jewish passengers, Fort Lauderdale would be a logical selection. Anchorage Airport, not so much.

This guy being a danger of turning jihadist doesn’t seem that remote to me.

Unless, of course, law enforcement is not allowed to consider being a Muslim anything to take note of.
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/...ial_media.html

One has to wonder why the military did not do a background check and find his other name and activities. What kind of mental exam is conducted by the military before they train in weaponry. And how did he get a gun on board or was someone else involved and planted it for him at the airport.

I would also like to know this man's immigration status. Was he inducted into the military as a non citizen? Was he a legal or illegal immigrant? We know that people have advocated that illegal immigrants be allowed in the military. We also know that military service has been a point of entry for many legal immigrants, another practice that should be halted.

He actually had the weapons in his checked baggage - fire all checkers on duty that day. He was under the radar but once again incompetence or purposefully ignored to cause another gun incident resulting in reason for gun confiscation. Esteban Santiago planned airport killings, investigators say


Saturday January 7, 2017.

(Broward Sheriff's Office / Courtesy)

Paula McMahonContact Reporter

Airport shooting suspect Esteban Santiago due in court in Fort Lauderdale on Monday

Airport shooting suspect Esteban Santiago told investigators he planned the carnage and purchased a one-way ticket to Fort Lauderdale to carry it out.

But it is still unclear why he came to South Florida to do it.

Federal prosecutors filed court documents Saturday detailing airport violence, gun and murder allegations against Santiago. If convicted, he could face the death penalty or life in federal prison, they said.

"Santiago fired approximately 10 to 15 rounds of ammunition from his firearm, aiming at his victims' heads. He was described as walking while shooting in a methodical manner," FBI Agent Michael Ferlazzo wrote in court records.
Five people died and six more suffered gunshot injuries.

"At one point, he exited the Terminal 2 baggage area [and went] onto the sidewalk and then re-entered, still carrying the handgun," agents wrote.
Esteban Santiago: Details emerge of suspect in airport shooting

Moments later, a Broward sheriff's deputy approached Santiago, who "dropped the handgun on the ground, in lock-back [mode], meaning that all the ammunition had been fired, and [he] dropped to the floor," investigators wrote.

He told investigators he checked baggage that contained a Walther 9mm semi-automatic handgun and two magazines of ammunition. After claiming his baggage, he said he took it into a stall in the men's restroom, removed the gun, loaded it and put it in his waistband, authorities said.

"He then left the men's restroom and shot the first people he encountered," agents wrote. "Santiago emptied his first magazine, then reloaded and shot until the second magazine, too, was out of bullets. He believes he shot approximately 15 rounds before his arrest."

Esteban Santiago, identified as Fort Lauderdale airport shooter, suffered from psychological issues

The shootings were apparently recorded by security video, which agents said corroborated Santiago's confession and witnesses' statements.

Santiago, 26, of Anchorage, Alaska, is due to make his first appearance at 11 a.m. Monday morning in federal court in Fort Lauderdale.

He traveled nearly 5,000 miles from Alaska to Fort Lauderdale. But after interviewing Santiago for hours, investigators said they have no clear answer to the question: Why did he come to Fort Lauderdale to carry out his rampage?

"The early indication is that there was no specific reason why he chose Fort Lauderdale International Airport," said George L. Piro, the special agent in charge of the FBI in South Florida.

"Indications are he came here to carry out this horrific attack. We have not identified any triggers that would have caused this attack but again it's very early in the investigation," Piro said.

It could be several days, or weeks, before formal charges are filed. Prosecutors would most likely seek an indictment by presenting their evidence to a federal grand jury in Fort Lauderdale.

At the initial court hearing Monday in federal court, U.S. Magistrate Judge Alicia Valle will explain the allegations to Santiago. The judge would also likely appoint the Federal Public Defender's Office to represent Santiago, if he does not hire a private attorney.

If Santiago says he wants to try to persuade the judge to release him on bond — a request that would certainly be rejected because of the danger he would pose to the public or that he might flee from justice — the prosecution and defense would have several days to prepare for it.

Though state prosecutors in Florida quite frequently seek the death penalty, it is very uncommon for federal prosecutors to pursue it.

Federal judges and jurors in Florida have only sentenced two men to Federal Death Row since Congress reinstated the death
penalty in 1988.

Broward state prosecutors could separately seek to file murder charges against Santiago because the shooting deaths occurred in Broward County.

The Broward State Attorney's Office is cooperating with federal prosecutors and no decision on that has yet been made, a spokesman said Saturday.

"We are here to help any way that we can. A decision will be made in the next few days about how we can help," said Ron Ishoy, a spokesman for Broward State Attorney Mike Satz.

Federal authorities said they are still investigating Santiago's motive and they have not yet ruled out terrorism. They said he
was acting alone.

Santiago had no obvious connection to southeast Florida but has some relatives who live in the Naples area, on the southwest coast of Florida, nearly a two-hour drive away. He took a Delta flight, with a connection in Minneapolis/St. Paul.
Santiago cooperated during an interview, which lasted for several hours on Friday and into early Saturday morning, authorities said. He spoke with FBI agents and Broward sheriff's detectives.

Santiago sought out the FBI in Anchorage in November and was hospitalized for mental health treatment after agents noticed his "erratic behavior," authorities said.

Anchorage police and the FBI confirmed Saturday that Santiago went to the FBI office in Anchorage seeking help on Nov. 7.
He told agents he was "having terroristic thoughts and believed he was being influenced by ISIS" but said he did not intend to harm anyone, authorities said.

He was hospitalized for a mental health evaluation and a firearm he left in his vehicle outside the office was temporarily taken from him.

The gun, which investigators said may or may not be the one used in the mass shooting at the airport in Fort Lauderdale, was returned to him by law enforcement on Dec. 8.　

http://www.1776coalition.com/rise-up...nned-killings/

BBC article states "apparently he checked the weapons in" with his baggage.....unreal! he just had an fbi check a month ago..He is a former member of the Alaska puerto rico national guard - a so called citizen. When will these military people be checked for mental illness before taught weaponry?

Fort Lauderdale airport shooting suspect charged

• 8 January 2017
• From the section US & Canada

The man suspected of carrying out a deadly shooting at a Florida airport has been charged by prosecutors.

Esteban Santiago, 26, is accused of opening fire at Fort Lauderdale airport, killing five people and injuring six others.

He is charged with carrying out an act of violence at an international airport resulting in death, which carries a maximum punishment of execution.

Mr Santiago also faces lesser weapons charges.
Media caption Bryan Santiago: "They already knew about the thoughts he was having" The suspect, who is in custody, told agents he had planned the attack and bought a one-way ticket to Fort Lauderdale, according to court papers.
Authorities said they did not know why he chose this target and that terrorism had not been ruled out.

"Today's charges represent the gravity of the situation and reflect the commitment of federal, state and local law enforcement personnel to continually protect the community and prosecute those who target our residents and visitors," US Attorney Wifredo Ferrer said.

Media captionFBI's George Piro said terrorism had not been ruled out Officials were also looking whether mental health problems played a role after it emerged that the suspect had been referred for a health assessment by the FBI.

Last November, Mr Santiago walked into an FBI office in Alaska in an agitated and incoherent state, the FBI and Anchorage police said.
He was carrying a loaded magazine but had left his handgun in his car, with his newborn child.

During the later mental health evaluation, he told the FBI he was hearing voices and believed he was being controlled by a US intelligence agency.

His gun was confiscated but the authorities found no wrongdoing, and it was returned in December. It is not clear if this is the same gun that he is accused of using in the attack at the airport baggage claim area.

---

The victims

An official list of the victims has not been released but families and friends have confirmed some of the identities.
Olga Woltering: A Georgia resident originally from Ipswich in eastern England.
A devout Catholic in her 80s, she was named as a victim by her Atlanta church, the Catholic Church of the Transfiguration. It described her as a "joyful, loving, caring and committed" person.
"This is a horrible tragedy for everyone here at Transfiguration, especially because Olga was so loved," it said.
Ms Woltering, from Marietta near Atlanta, was in Florida on her way to join a cruise to celebrate her husband's 90th birthday. He was unharmed in the shooting.
Terry Andres: The 63-year-old from Virginia Beach, Virginia, was a volunteer fireman. He and his wife had flown to Fort Lauderdale for a Caribbean cruise. He was named as a victim by friend Jessica Winbauer.
Image copyright AP Image caption Terry Andres, of Virginia Beach, was travelling with his wife She told AP news agency that the death had shocked the community.
Michael Oehme: The 57-year-old Iowa man was named by his sister, Elizabeth Oehme-Miller. He was supposed to go on a cruise with his wife, she said.
Mr Oehme was a land surveyor and owned his own business. His wife was in hospital with injuries from a gunshot wound to the shoulder.
Shirley Timmons: The 70-year old from Senecaville, Ohio, was travelling with her husband, Steve, to join the rest of the family for a cruise, according to her grandson Steve Reineccius.
Wile FM reported that her husband was shot in the head and underwent emergency surgery at a hospital in Fort Lauderdale, where he was in critical condition.

---

Mr Santiago is a former member of the Puerto Rico and Alaska National Guard, according to the Pentagon.
He served in Iraq from April 2010 to February 2011, and ended his service in August 2016.
His aunt told a local newspaper he had "lost his mind" while serving in Iraq, and his brother said he had been receiving psychological treatment recently.
US media reported that he had received a general discharge from the Alaska National Guard for unsatisfactory performance.
Flying with firearms is legal in the US as long as the guns are kept in a locked, hard-sided container as checked baggage only, under rules of the Transport Security Administration (TSA). Ammunition is also allowed only in checked luggage.

The attack was the latest in a series of mass shootings in the US in recent years, carried out by people who had easy access to weapons under US gun laws.

Last year, in the worst shooting in recent US history, a man apparently inspired by so-called Islamic State killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38545653

Originally Posted by artist

He actually had the weapons in his checked baggage - fire all checkers on duty that day. . .

Guns are permitted in checked bags.
================

Transporting Firearms and Ammunition.
You may transport unloaded firearms in a locked hard-sided container as checked baggage only. Declare the firearm and/or ammunition to the airline when checking your bag at the ticket counter. The container must completely secure the firearm from being accessed.

Transporting Firearms and Ammunition | Transportation Security ...

https://www.tsa.gov/travel/transporting-firearms-and-ammunition

Originally Posted by pkskyali

I would also like to know this man's immigration status. . .

He was born in New jersey, making him a U.S. citizen at birth.

"Santiago was born in New Jersey but moved to Puerto Rico when he was 2, relatives said."

From Judicial Watch.

Airport Shooter Converted to Islam, Identified as Aashiq Hammad Years Before Joining Army

JANUARY 10, 2017

The Ft. Lauderdale Airport shooter is a Muslim convert who years before joining the U.S. Army took on an Islamic name (Aashiq Hammad), downloaded terrorist propaganda and recorded Islamic religious music online, according to public records dug up by the investigative news site of an award-winning, California journalist. This is pertinent information that the Obama administration apparently wants to keep quiet, bringing up memories of the Benghazi cover up, in which the president and his cohorts knowingly lied to conceal that Islamic terrorists attacked the U.S. Special Mission in Libya.

Information is slowly trickling out that links the Ft. Lauderdale Airport shooter to radical Islam while the official story from authorities is that the gunman is a mentally ill, Hispanic Army veteran named Esteban Santiago that became unhinged after a tour in Iraq. Only one mainstream media outlet mentions the possibility of Santiago’s “jihadist identity,” burying it in a piece about New York possibly being his initial target. A paragraph deep in the story mentions that investigators recovered Santiago’s computer from a pawn shop and the FBI is examining it to determine whether he created a “jihadist identity for himself using the name Aashiq Hammad…” The rest of the traditional mainstream media coverage promotes the government rhetoric that omits any ties to terrorism even though early on a photo surfaced of Santiago making an ISIS salute while wearing a keffiyeh, a Palestinian Arab scarf.

The public records uncovered in the days after the massacre suggest Santiago (Hammad) is a radical Islamic terrorist that’s seriously committed to Islam. Besides taking on a Muslim name, he recorded three Islamic religious songs, including the Muslim declaration faith (“there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger”) known as the Shahada. He also posted a thread about downloading propaganda videos from Islamic terrorists on a weapons and explosives forum. The investigative news site that unearthed this disturbing information connected the dots between Santiago, who is of Puerto Rican descent, and Hammad, an identity he created in 2007.

This week a prominent Ft. Lauderdale businessman and longtime resident addressed a letter to the city’s mayor and commissioners blasting county and federal officials for covering up that “Aashiq Hammad, not Esteban Santiago, attacked our city and county.” The businessman, respected Ft. Lauderdale real estate entrepreneur Jim Morlock, specifically names Broward County’s elected sheriff Scott Israel, Florida senator Bill Nelson, the first to identify Santiago as the shooter on national television, and congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, ousted last summer as Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair over a scandalous plot to damage Bernie Sanders during the primary.

“Since when does a US Senator (Bill Nelson), not law enforcement, be the one to so quickly release this terrorist’s Hispanic name but nothing about his more relevant Islamic background?” the letter asks. Obama must have told Sen. Nelson to keep this from looking like a Muslim Terrorist attack during the last 12 days of his watch. Bad for his legacy.” Morlock goes on to state that it’s “better to portray this atrocity as white Hispanic Alaskan mental Iraq war vet gun violence.” The real estate entrepreneur proceeds to reveal that Santiago lives in walking distance to the only mosque in Alaska, was radicalized before he entered the military and was knowingly allowed to serve despite his Islamic sympathies thanks to “Obama’s PC military.”

The letter poses interesting questions, including why this Muslim terrorist chose Ft. Lauderdale out of all the nation’s airports and who Santiago knows in Broward county, which has a large and growing Islamic community. In 2015 Judicial Watch obtained records from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) that show an Al Qaeda terrorist who helped plan several U.S. attacks lived in Broward County and graduated from the local community college with a degree in computer engineering. His name is Adnan G. El Shukrijumah, but he also has a Hispanic identity, Javier Robles, and for years he appeared on the FBI’s most wanted list. Back in 2012 Judicial Watch reported on a terrorist front group’s demands that Broward County public schools close twice a year to celebrate Islamic holy days, illustrating the influence that Muslims have in the region.

http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/20...-joining-army/

Authorities: Fort Lauderdale Suspect First Planned New Year’s Eve Trip to New York

• By BRIAN ROSS
• RHONDA SCHWARTZ
• JOSH MARGOLIN
• JAVIER BELLIDO

Jan 9, 2017, 8:25 PM ET

Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP

WATCH Airport Gunman May Have Originally Targeted New York

Esteban Santiago’s initial destination may not have been Fort Lauderdale but New York City, where he had made a reservation to fly in on New Year’s Eve, authorities told ABC News.

But for some unknown reason, he canceled the flight and a few days later booked a one-way $278 ticket to Florida.

New York City counterterrorism officials are investigating Santiago’s plan to visit the city and whether he planned to stay in New York or transfer to another flight.

Officials believe that the highly visible presence of NYPD officers throughout the city on New Year’s Eve could have been an effective deterrent.

On Friday — as surveillance video obtained by TMZ shows — Santiago arrived in the Fort Lauderdale airport in Florida and 43 minutes later pulled a 9 mm handgun from his waistband and began firing off found after round.
Police said that he emptied his first magazine of bullets and reloaded so that he could keep shooting.

After 34 seconds of terror, five people were killed, and six more were injured in a scene of mayhem that the shooter’s friends and family say could have been prevented.

In an interview with ABC News on Sunday, Santiago’s former girlfriend Michelle Quinones said that after he returned from a deployment to Iraq in 2011 — a tour that saw two friends in his National Guard unit killed — he started to become unhinged.

The death of his father made matters worse, she said.

“He wasn’t the same after he came from Iraq and after his father,” she said. “There was something in his voice that wasn’t right. He needed to tell somebody something. He couldn’t. He just didn’t dare to.”
She said that they sought help for him from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“We had let Veterans [Affairs] know that he was having some mental problems, that he wasn’t feeling all right, and they did nothing,” she said. “They didn’t do anything.”
Michelle Quinones
Alleged Fort Lauderdale gunman Esteban Santiago is seen with former girlfriend, Michelle Quinones, in an undated photo that was obtained by ABC News.more +Asked about these claims, VA spokesman Randal Noller in Washington on Monday would not comment on whether Santiago had sought mental health treatment, citing privacy laws, but confirmed that he was “a veteran who served in the Army National Guard.”

Repeated calls by ABC News on Monday to the VA Caribbean Healthcare System in San Juan, Puerto Rico, went unanswered.

Santiago moved to Alaska, and court records reveal he had domestic violence issues there.

On Jan. 10, 2016, he was arrested after breaking down a door in his residence and trying to strangle a different girlfriend. Instead of a jail time, he was required to attend anger management courses, the records show.
Then on Nov. 7, Santiago showed up at the FBI’s Anchorage office claiming that “his mind was being controlled by a U.S. intelligence agency,” according to Marlin Ritzman, the special agent in charge of that office, who was speaking at a press conference on Saturday.

During that incident, Santiago “appeared agitated, incoherent and made disjointed statements” but “stated he did not wish to harm anyone,” Ritzman said.

But after a brief hospitalization for a mental examination, Santiago was released and on Dec. 8 was allowed to collect his handgun, which law enforcement had confiscated.

In an interview in Penuelas, Puerto Rico, with ABC News on Saturday, the shooter’s brother, Bryan Santiago, was critical of the FBI.

Bryan Santiago, claiming his brother was mentally unwell, said, “He would see things, like he was being followed by the CIA, this, that. That the CIA wanted him to watch some videos, that the CIA wanted him to join ISIS against his will. He never joined, but he’d say the CIA wanted him to.”

“When he went to the FBI, he was unconsciously asking for help,” the brother said.

“How is it possible that they only hospitalized him for four days?” he wondered. “The mistake was theirs, and what I criticize is that the federal government knew about his situation for months.”

“How is it possible that the federal government let him keep his gun?” he said. “All this could have been avoided.”
Michelle Quinones
Alleged Fort Lauderdale gunman Esteban Santiago is seen with former girlfriend, Michelle Quinones, in an undated photo that was obtained by ABC News.more +With Esteban Santiago detained in Florida, authorities are investigating his claims — real or imagined — that he had been in contact with the ISIS terrorist group online.

Since the attack, investigators recovered his computer from a pawn shop, and the FBI is examining it to determine whether the alleged shooter created a jihadist identity for himself using the name Aashiq Hammad, according to officials familiar with the case.

In his press conference on Saturday, the FBI’s Ritzman acknowledged concerns over why Santiago was not put on a no-fly list. The agent told reporters, “I want to be clear, during our initial investigation, we found no ties to terrorism.”

But according to John Cohen, an ABC News consultant and former acting undersecretary for intelligence at the Department of Homeland Security, in these instances, “investigators aren’t asking the right questions.”
What they’re asking is, is there a connection with a terrorist organization?’” he explained. “What they should be asking is, ‘Does this person I’m interested in present a risk of committing an act of violence?’”

“Based on the attacks we’ve seen in this country, these aren’t traditional terrorists we’re dealing with. We’re dealing with people who have underlying mental health issues, who are self-connecting with extremist causes and are murdering people in furtherance of some perceived grievance,” he said.

As authorities work to piece together Santiago’s motive, there will also be introspection as agents ask themselves what, if anything, they could have done to prevent this tragedy.

ABC News’ Paul Blake wrote this story, and Alex Hosenball and Randy Kreider contributed from New York.
ABC News’ Alyssa Pone contributed from Anchorage, and Sabina Ghebremedhin and Shahriar Rahmanzadeh contributed from Los Angeles. Bellido, a freelance journalist for ABC News, contributed from Penuelas.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/santiagos-t...ry?id=44648391

It seems that four of the victims had a lot in common and while I have not found a picture of the fifth victim it will be interesting to see if that person shares the general age group and background of the first four.

Fort Lauderdale Shooting Victims: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Published 6:25 pm EST, January 7, 2017 Updated 3:11 am EST, January 8, 2017
By Jessica McBride


Michael Oehme. (Facebook)

They are four different people from three different states, but they all had the unfortunate timing of standing at a baggage carousel in Fort Lauderdale on Friday when a gunman decided to execute people he didn’t know.

They died in front of their spouses, who survived the attack (although one husband is in a coma), and they left behind legacies ranging from volunteerism to being grandparents. Three of the identified victims in the Fort Lauderdale shooting were on their way to cruises.

The victims identified so far are Terry Andres, 62, of Virginia; Olga Woltering, a great-grandmother from Georgia; Michael Oehme, of Council Bluffs, Iowa; and Shirley Timmons, of Senecaville, Ohio.

The horrific airport shooting mass tragedy now has a human face. Esteban Santiago, 26, an American citizen and Iraq combat veteran is under arrest in the shooting, accused of checking a gun into luggage, retrieving it in a bathroom, and then emerging to methodically shoot people standing in baggage claim. The gunman shot some of them in the head, and one eyewitness said he acted like he was in target practice.

Altogether, five people died, and six more were injured in the shooting (others suffered minor injuries in the ensuing evacuation.) The name of the final deceased victim has not yet been released. This post will be updated when it is.

Here’s what you need to know:

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1. Oehme Was on His Way to a Cruise With His Wife

Michael Oehme, 57, was on his way to a cruise with his wife, Kari, a neighbor confirmed to the Omaha World-Herald.
Kari was also shot, but she is expected to recover, the newspaper reported. The couple was from Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Michael Oehme. (Facebook)

The Sun-Sentinel reported that Oehme “was a surveyor and had his own company called Boundaryline Surveys Oehme-Nielsen & Associates…his wife is a customer service representative for a telecommunications company.”

The couple has a daughter whose Facebook profile now carries a graphic that reads, “Pray for Fort Lauderdale.”

Social media posts indicated a loving and tight-knit family.

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2. Andres Was on Vacation With the Wife He Called His ‘Soulmate’ & Had Expressed His Love for America

Andres leaves behind a wife, two daughters, and grandchildren. He was standing with his wife, Ann, when he was shot. Andres was a volunteer firefighter.
His daughter confirmed that he was among the victims to WAVY-TV. He lived in Virginia Beach, Virginia and was born in Millville, New Jersey, graduating from high school in that community.

Terry Andres. (Facebook)

As with the Oehmes, Terry and Ann were on their way to a cruise vacation, and Ann survived the attack. On Facebook, Andres frequently wrote of his love for his wife, whom he referred to as his “soulmate.” The couple celebrated 39 years of marriage September 10. In a 2013 Facebook post, Andres wrote: “36 years ago tomorrow I married my beautiful wife and soul mate. I would like to wish her Happy Anniversary and let her know even though we are miles apart, she has my heart. Thanks for putting up with me.”
Andres worked at a Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia, a spokeswoman confirmed.

The shipyard’s website claims its one of the “largest shipyards in the world to specialize in repairing, overhauling and modernizing ships and submarines.” In one post, Andres had written about going to help with work at Pearl Harbor.

He posted about on his Facebook page about the birth of his grandson in 2013:

“Yesterday I was blessed with a new grandson … I’m so proud of the new parents.”

In 2011, Andres expressed his love for America, writing, “I also realized how relatively young America is and what we have accomplished in relatively a short time. God Bless America and proud to call it home.”

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3. Woltering Was a Great-Grandmother Who Belonged to a Georgia Church

Nicole Carr
last Saturday




‪From the son of Olga Woltering, Marietta woman killed in Fort Lauderdale airport shooting:http://bit.ly/2jfKRsr @wsbtv









Like the other identified victims, Olga Woltering was set to go on a cruise with her husband Ralph, who survived the attack.

Ralph was going to celebrate his 90th birthday on the cruise. According to The Atlanta Journal Constitution, the couple was active members at the Transfiguration Catholic Church. A friend from the church wrote a remembrance of Woltering on Facebook, asking for prayers “for the soul of Olga Woltering.”

Her son gave local news media a statement in which he described the strong faith of his mother.

Woltering’s church wrote on Facebook, “Olga and her husband, Ralph, could always be found at 5:00 pm Mass, in the front of the Tabernacle side. They were always happy and approachable! Ralph is a member of Knights of Columbus and Olga was active in many ministries. Olga was so charming, calling everybody ‘Lovey’ or ‘Love’ in her unmistakable British accent. The picture above shows her normal face, complete with her beaming smile! Her life revolved around her kids, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and hundreds of extended family at Transfiguration.”

Friend Chip Oudt was supposed to go on the cruise with the couple. He wrote on Facebook, “One of the women killed today at the Ft. Lauderdale airport was a good friend of mine from Transfiguration who with her husband were going on a cruise tomorrow. Her name is Olga Woltering and she was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and friend. She will be missed.”

Woltering was from England and lived in Marietta, Georgia. “Mrs Olga, thank you for your beautiful smile and caring personality you will missed on this earth and in our church community,” wrote another friend on Facebook.

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4. Timmons’ Husband Is in a Coma & She Was a Former Store Owner

Shirley Timmons (left) with family. (Facebook)

Shirley Timmons and her husband, Steve, of Senecaville Ohio, were on their way to a family cruise, reported the Miami-Herald. Steve Timmons was shot in the face and is in a coma, the newspaper reported.

The newspaper said the couple formerly owned stores and had been married since 1966. “Steve and Shirley raised an amazing family, three amazing girls. Their family was everything to them,” a family spokesman told Your Radio Place.

Timmons’ grandson confirmed the death on Facebook, writing that both of his grandparents are in their 70s. The couple was about it celebrate their 51st wedding anniversary, reported Fox 19.

A friend wrote on Facebook: “Not much news made it to the cruise ship-but we heard about Fort Lauderdale shooting and now I find I know one of the dead Shirley Wells Timmons and her husband (shot in the eye but alive) Steve Timmons-booth from my hometown. Sweet innocent people!”

Authorities said in a news conference that two other people also died in the mass shooting attack, but those names have not yet been released.

In addition, six other people were shot and are alive, authorities said. They had initially said that eight people were shot, but now say the number is eight.

All of those shot were standing at the luggage carousel waiting for their bags when Santiago allegedly burst out of the restroom. Authorities say he had checked the bag under a plane after traveling to Florida from Alaska through Minneapolis.

Santiago had served in the U.S. military in Iraq, winning combat medals, and returning with mental health issues, family members have told the news media. He ran into trouble with the law in Alaska, the last state where he lived, being accused of domestic violence, a case that resulted in a deferred prosecution agreement. You can learn more about that case here:
Read: Esteban Santiago Ruiz Domestic Violence Charges [DOCUMENTS]

Esteban Santiago Ruiz was accused of domestic violence against a girlfriend before he allegedly shot 11 people at Fort Lauderdale airport. Read the documents.
Click here to read more

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5. Authorities Are Not Ruling Out Terrorism in the Case

Although sources initially told television news networks that authorities were leaning toward mental health issues as a possible motive for the mass shooting, the special agent in charge of the FBI offices in Miami now says that terrorism is being investigated.

George L. Piro, the special agent in charge of the FBI in Miami, said at the evening news conference on January 6 that the investigation spans multiple states, and he confirmed that Santiago had sought out the FBI in Alaska a few months back.

“We have not ruled out terrorism,” Piro said. “Any connections, communication – anything you can imagine, I assure you, we are pursuing every possible lead.” In a Saturday press conference, the FBI said evidence points to Santiago allegedly coming to Fort Lauderdale solely to commit the attack, that he may have visited other cities first, and he will appear in federal court on January 9.

Piro in the news conference also confirmed that Santiago had come to FBI offices in Alaska in November; the suspect allegedly told the FBI that voices in his head had told him to fight for ISIS. However, said Piro, authorities thought he needed mental health assistance and referred him to local police who helped Santiago get treatment.

Eyewitnesses described a horrific scene in which the gunman emerged from a bathroom and randomly executed people waiting for their luggage by shooting them in the head, with “no rhyme nor reason to it,” according to NBC News. He fired through luggage and at people who were hiding, an eyewitness told the network. The Florida governor called the attack “evil” and “disgusting” on CNN. An eyewitness told WCCO-TV in Minneapolis that the calm and silent shooter acted like he was in the woods going to target practice but he was “using people as his target.”

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