Police said five people were killed and eight were wounded in a shooting this afternoon at the Fort Lauderdale international airport.
The suspected shooter is in custody, according to a spokeswoman for the Broward County Sheriff’s Department, which was on scene at the airport.
While officials could not immediately confirm the death toll, “we have multiple people dead,” the spokeswoman said.
The Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport posted on Twitter about “an ongoing incident” at the baggage claims in one of the terminals, but did not provide further information. Airport representatives could not be immediately reached for comment.
Local media reports said that several people had also been wounded in the shooting. Live video feeds from the scene showed swarms of police cars with their sirens flashing at the airport, one of the busiest aviation hubs in the country.
Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer posted on Twitter that he was at the airport and saw people running after gunshots were fired.
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Ari Fleischer ✔ @AriFleischer
I’m at the Ft. Lauderdale Airport. Shots have been fired. Everyone is running.
12:57 PM – 6 Jan 2017 · Dania Beach, FL
5,052 5,052 Retweets 1,652 1,652 likes
(c) 2016 Mark Berman – The Washington Post
We obviously don’t know, at the moment, whether this was a terrorist attack by some Muslim upset over a cartoon, by a Mexican illegal facing deportation, by a mentally unstable individual, by a disgruntled Democrat, or by a homeless vet.
What we DO know is that there are more than enough homegrown murderers and other violent individuals, and to keep this country somewhat safe, other potential ones should either be disallowed from entering, or deported as soon as feasible. Build that wall, and keep the moose limbs across the ocean.