As UF alumnus Mike Biana prepared to board a flight at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Friday afternoon, his phone was flooded with panicked texts and messages.
One terminal down, a five-minute walk, a gunman had opened fire at the baggage claim area of the airport’s Terminal 2. Five people were shot and six others were wounded.
“We thought we were all going to die,” 26-year-old Biana said.
For Biana, a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, native who graduated from UF in 2013, the flight was going to be a rare chance to see his cousin. But for a handful of Delta Airlines or Air Canada passengers who had just arrived in South Florida, their trip was cut short by gunfire.
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At about 12:55 p.m., Esteban Santiago, 26, of Anchorage, Alaska, pulled a gun from his luggage and opened fire in the baggage claim area at the airport, according to the Associated Press.
Santiago, an Iraq war veteran, then threw his gun down and lied down. He was arrested by law enforcement.
The motive is under investigation, according to AP. Santiago is charged with weapons violations and an act of violence at an international airport resulting in death. He could face the death penalty.
In November, Santiago had walked into an FBI field office in Alaska, where he was serving as a National Guard soldier, and claimed the U.S. government was controlling his mind and forcing him to watch Islamic State group videos, according to AP.
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Biana said half an hour after hearing about the shooting, about 20 Transportation Security Administration members ran down Terminal 3, screaming at everyone to get down. He thought they looked like they were running away.
He immediately dropped to the ground and hid behind a column as others ran to hide in a bathroom.
Biana said he didn’t hear gunshots, but hiding behind that column was the worst 10 minutes of his life.
He said he received messages from a friend that there was a second shooter in the Hibiscus garage. At a televised press conference, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel later confirmed there was not a second shooter.
Security officers soon began evacuating everyone onto the tarmac, as far away from the garage as possible. No one told the airport visitors what happened, Biana said.
As thousands stood outside calling and texting loved ones, Biana didn’t know if his flight would be rescheduled or refunded, but by then he just wanted to go home.
“We were all just in shock that this was happening here in our backyard,” he said. “It’s sad that the ‘hashtag pray for blank’ could be applied anywhere.”
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Glen Baker, a Gainesville Police Department officer working at Gainesville Regional Airport, said the shooting didn’t affect the airport’s security Friday.
“Security hasn’t been increased any more than normal, but we’re always aware something could happen,” he said.
There were no scheduled flights to Fort Lauderdale on Friday, and no flights to Miami were canceled.
Hannah Kaufman, a UF alumna, was on the last flight to leave the Fort Lauderdale airport Friday before it was shut down.
After visiting her family and boyfriend in Fort Lauderdale, the 22-year-old was heading back to Georgetown University’s law school. Her flight was scheduled for 12:20 p.m. and delayed twice.
Kaufman was in Terminal 3 and could hear a muffled intercom announcement as she walked toward the plane. Flight attendants urged passengers to board faster.
It wasn’t until she was in her assigned seat scrolling through Twitter that Kaufman realized what was happening. No one on the plane seemed to be reacting, she said.
“It was so strange to be that close to it and not know what was going on,” she said.
About to land in D.C., the pilot announced to the passengers the airport was closed. They were the last to leave.
“I obviously feel very lucky,” she said. “We could’ve been standing there when it happened.”
Thousands of would-be passengers stand outside at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport tarmac after being evacuated due to an active shooter in Terminal 2.
