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Suspect in Florida airport shooting faces 22 charges

Esteban Santiago is taken from the Broward County main jail Jan. 9, 2017, as he is transported to the federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, File)
Esteban Santiago, right, leaves the Broward County jail for a hearing in federal court, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Lynne Sladky/AP)
Law enforcement officers walk around Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Friday, Jan. 6, 2017, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. A gunman opened fire in the baggage claim area at the airport Friday, killing several people and wounding others. (David Santiago/El Nuevo Herald via AP)
People hide at pole at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport Friday, Jan. 6, 2017. A gunman opened fire in the baggage claim area at the airport Friday, killing several people and wounding others before being taken into custody. (AP Photo/Julie Brown)
People stand on the tarmac at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport after a shooter opened fire inside a terminal of the airport, killing several people and wounding others before being taken into custody, Friday, Jan. 6, 2017, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Law enforcement personnel shield civilians outside a garage area at Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport, Friday, Jan. 6, 2017, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., after a shooter opened fire inside a terminal of the airport, killing several people and wounding others before being taken into custody. (David Santiago/El Nuevo Herald via AP)
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January 26, 2017 - 1:07 pm
 

TAMPA — A federal grand jury has indicted on 22 criminal counts a man accused of killing five people in a mass shooting at a Florida airport this month, prosecutors said on Thursday.

Esteban Santiago, 26, is accused of opening fire in the baggage claim area of the Fort Lauderdale airport on Jan. 6. The charges against him include multiple counts of violence at an airport causing death and injury, as well as firearms crimes.

If convicted, he could be punished by life imprisonment or death. Prosecutors have not said whether they will seek a death sentence.

The indictment was returned by a federal grand jury in Broward County, Florida, where the attack occurred, prosecutors in the U.S. Southern District of Florida said in a news release.

Authorities said Santiago aimed at victims’ heads and bodies until he ran out of ammunition and was taken into custody. Five people were killed in the attack and six others wounded.

The indictment accuses Santiago of “substantial planning and premeditation to cause the death of a person.”

An Iraq war veteran, Santiago had a history of erratic behavior. Authorities have said they were investigating whether mental illness played a role in the shooting.

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