Mother Of Ft. Lauderdale Shooting Defendant Begs For Mercy

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

The mother of Esteban Santiago, the 26-year-old war veteran who sowed terror last Friday at the Ft. Lauderdale airport, asks for mercy for her son.

From her home in Peñuelas, Puerto Rico, Elizabeth Santiago told the British newspaper Daily Mail that her son has not been "the same" since he returned from Iraq.

"He has mental problems and should receive adequate treatment," said the troubled 56-year-old mother. “The death penalty is not the correct solution to your problems. [Esteban] is a US citizen who is protected by the laws of this country and should receive a fair trial."

For her part, the ex-girlfriend of the Puerto Rican, Michelle Quiñones, coincided when she indicated to ABC that the young man - who was stationed in Iraq in 2010 - returned "changed".

It is speculated that the explosion of a bomb that cost two of his friends' lives allegedly triggered his mental problems. Since then, his friends said, he heard voices and felt that they were persecuting him.

To make matters worse, upon his return to the United States in 2011 he lost his father.

"It was not the same since he returned from Iraq and after his father's," said Quiñones. “There was something in his voice that was not right. I needed to say something to someone. [But I cant. He just didn't dare."

Santiago himself went last November to the FBI offices in Alaska, where he lived, to denounce that his mind was under the control of the intelligence agencies and that they wanted him to join ISIS. Despite this, the firearm he owned was not removed.

TMZ released a video from a security camera showing the moment when Santiago opens fire without flinching in the baggage claim area due to the panic of the passengers.

Five people were killed and six more were injured before the suspect was reduced by police officers, according to authorities.