FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- A Noblesville couple at the Fort Lauderdale airport during the mass shooting on Thursday, say they walked into the chaos just moments after the shootings occurred.
Five people were killed and multiple others injured after authorities say Esteban Santiago, 26, opened fire in the baggage claim area. The Broward County Sheriff’s Office says he appears to have been a lone shooter.
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Sam Carroll and his wife Kelli had traveled to Florida to take a cruise. The couple had just gotten off their flight in Fort Lauderdale and were heading to the baggage claim area when the gunfire erupted.
“We heard the gunfire and a mob of people came forward and said ‘shooter, shooter’ so we turned around and ran in that direction with them,” said Carroll
Carroll said they missed the gunfire by just moments.
“We went behind the barricade and sat down and just started praying,” said Carroll.
He said they spent hours on the tarmac with the hundreds of other passengers where they were interviewed by the FBI and then shuttled onto a bus and away from the airport.
“My heart goes out to the victims, the people who lost their lives. Their families and the people injured,” said Carroll.
Witnesses at the scene described Santiago as firing randomly at one of the airport’s baggage claims. He did not appear to be targeting his victims specifically.
Authorities say it is still too early to tell if the shooting was an act of terror.
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