The shooting at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida resulted in a total of 45 people injured, the Broward County Sheriff's Office has announced, APA reports quoting sputniknews.
The incident occurred near Terminal 2 of the airport on Friday morning. It was earlier reported that a gunman killed five and wounded 13 people.
​"This is a fluid situation. 5 dead. 8 initially injured. 37 others injured after incident. All injured taken to BHMC & Memorial Regional," the sheriff’s office said on its official Twitter page.
Earlier on Friday, it was reported that over a dozen people were injured in the shooting.
The 26-year-old suspect is in custody. According to US Senator from Florida Bill Nelson, the shooter has been identified as Esteban Santiago from the state of New Jersey.
The suspect has reportedly served in the US military and had previously been sent to a mental health facility. According to authorities, the suspect flew from Alaska to Minneapolis to Fort Lauderdale on a Delta Airlines flight. Police are not ruling out terrorism in their investigation of the Florida Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport shooting.
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00:30
A gunman wearing a "Star Wars" T-shirt opened fire at a baggage carousel at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Friday, killing at least five people before being taken into custody, officials and witnesses said, APA reports quoting Rueters.
Five people died and eight were wounded in the incident, the local sheriff's office said.
Police shot the shooter as he attempted to reload, MSNBC reported, citing witnesses. It said the man, who said nothing, appeared to be in his 20s and was wearing a "Star Wars" T-shirt.
He carried a U.S. military identification, U.S. Senator Bill Nelson of Florida told MSNBC.
The Florida attack was the latest in a series of mass shootings that have plagued the United States in recent years, some inspired by militants with an extreme view of Islam, others carried out by loners or the mentally disturbed who have easy access to weapons under U.S. gun laws.
About 90 minutes after the attack, panic broke out anew with passengers and police running frantically about the airport.
Dozens of police sprinted back and forth with automatic weapons drawn, directing a large group of travelers.
A police officer screamed "Get down, get down!" from a parking garage across the street from the airport terminal, a Reuters reporter witnessed.
John Schlicher, who told MSNBC he saw the attack, described the shooter as a "slender man" who was "directly firing at us" while passengers waited for their bags to come off the carousel.
"I put my head down and prayed," Schlicher said, adding that his wife gave first aid to someone who had been shot in the head. His mother-in-law used her sweater to tend to another victim but it turned out that person was already dead, he said.
The shooter reloaded for a second burst of shooting, Schlicher said, but could not say how many bullets were fired.
Mark Lea, another eyewitness, told MSNBC "there was no rhyme or reason to it."
"He didn't say anything, he was quiet the whole time, he didn't yell anything," Lea said.
Security officials corralled passengers underneath jetways and on the runway apron, according to images on television.
A woman tended to a bleeding, seated man outside an airport building, according to a photo posted on Twitter by a Michigan information technology company.
Air traffic was temporarily suspended.
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is the second largest in South Florida, serving as an intercontinental gateway, with Miami International Airport known as the primary airport for international flights in the area.
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22:50
At least nine people were shot, including three fatally, and a suspect was in custody at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida on Friday, APA reports quoting Reuters.
"There is an ongoing incident in Terminal 2, Baggage Claim," said a post on the airport's Twitter account. A spokesperson for the airport could not be reached immediately for comment.
Security officials corralled passengers into a number of areas, including underneath jetways and at least one open space on the runway apron, according to images on cable news networks.
Ari Fleischer, a former press secretary for U.S. President George W. Bush, said on Twitter that shots were fired and "everyone is running."
"All seems calm now but the police aren't letting anyone out of the airport - at least not the area where I am," Fleischer said.
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22:32
Nine people were shot, including one fatally, and a suspect was in custody after an incident at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida on Friday, MSNBC reported, citing unnamed law enforcement sources, APA reports.
"There is an ongoing incident in Terminal 2, Baggage Claim," said a post on the airport's Twitter account. A spokesperson for the airport could not immediately be reached for comment.
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