A shooting at Fort Lauderdale Airport on Friday afternoon has left at least three dead and nine injured. According to CNN, authorities have taken a suspect into custody and believe him to be the sole shooter.
“We have no evidence at this time that he was acting with anyone else. He is currently in custody and we’re investigating,” Mayor Barbara Sharief said.
Parts of the airport were evacuated, and people were led out onto the tarmac while police searched for the shooter. A tweet from airport officials claimed an “ongoing incident” around Terminal 2’s baggage claim.
Former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer was on site and tweeted his own take on the incident.
I’m at the Ft. Lauderdale Airport. Shots have been fired. Everyone is running.
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) January 6, 2017
Several news stations have reached out to Mr. Fleischer for comment.
Gene Messina’s plane had just touched down in Fort Lauderdale when the shooting happened. When she “saw TSA agents running,” she knew something bad was going on and followed suit.
According to NBC News, airport tweets place the shooting sometime around 12:55pm EST. “The Federal Aviation Administration did not immediately order an official ground stop at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, but officials were not letting anyone inside.”
Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives have been dispatched to help local authorities. They have yet to determine the shooter’s motive for the attack.
“You’re trying to understand, is this a one-off guy? Regardless of motive, is he alone, or is there something else?” law enforcement expert Jim Cavanaugh told MSNBC. “We hate to think that way, but that’s the requirement for police commanders — to think that way.”
All flights in and out of Fort Lauderdale have been temporarily suspended. According to airport officials, the terminal where the incident occurred “is home to departures and arrivals for Delta and Air Canada,” but no link has been made.
This is an ongoing story.
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