The brother of Esteban Santiago, the Florida airport shooter, criticized the US government for still allowing his brother to own a gun despite knowing he was mentally ill.
According to AP, Mr. Bryan Santiago said that Esteban, 26 years old, was no longer able to control his anger after serving with the US military in Iraq.
Esteban was arrested by police after carrying out a shooting at a Florida airport.
FBI too weak?
Also according to Bryan, Esteban once told him that he felt secretly chased and controlled by the CIA through online messages.
“That was the failure of the FBI,” Bryan said. “This was not a case of someone “showing up out of nowhere” and shooting at someone.
Also according to Bryan, he noticed that his younger brother was behaving very differently since returning from Iraq: `Sometimes he can’t control his anger.
Bryan recalled that when he visited his brother in Alaska in August 2016, he said he heard many noises in his head and felt like he was being chased.
However, officials in Alaska spoke up on January 7 to defend what they did to Esteban.
However, according to Mr. Ritzman, Esteban’s case happens `every day` and many FBI officials across the United States receive similar complaints every day.
Meanwhile, Anchorage Police Chief Chris Tolley said they received notice from the FBI that Esteban admitted he `had terrorist plans in mind` and was `influenced by IS` so he was taken for surveillance.
Before entering the FBI Office in Alaska for a psychiatric evaluation, Esteban forgot his gun in the car.
It is still unclear whether that was the gun Esteban used to carry out the shooting on January 6.
Or is it the shooter who has problems?
Before carrying out the shooting at the Florida airport, in the past few years, Esteban continuously caused a lot of trouble.
A month later, local prosecutors accused him of violating his bail conditions when police officers discovered him at his girlfriend’s house during the time he was supposed to report to police.
Chief Tolley said they had received complaints about Esteban’s mental health problems, but police officers had no reason to arrest him and local prosecutors did not ask them to.
Meanwhile, Alaska National Guard spokesman Candis Olmstead said it was possible that Esteban suffered psychological instability in Iraq when two of his comrades were killed by a bomb that exploded near him.
It is still unclear whether Esteban suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which 30% of US veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from.
A very different Esteban in the eyes of his relatives
Mrs. Ursula Candelario, a neighbor of Esteban since he was a child and knew Esteban very well, said that people often greeted Esteban when they saw him since he joined the National Guard.
“He is a gentle person, well-educated and very serious in matters.
Esteban’s uncle and aunt said they could not understand why their nephew did what he did.
Puerto Rican Senator Nelson Cruz, who knows Esteban’s family well, said he has spoken regularly with Esteban’s brother, Bryan, since the shooting: `They are a family who live simply and
According to Tran Khanh/VOV.VN