Anchorage Police Returned Gun to Florida Shooting Suspect After ‘Mental Health Crisis’
The Anchorage man accused in the mass shooting at a Florida airport Friday did not have ties to a terrorist organization when he was investigated last year, the FBI said at a news conference Saturday in Anchorage.
Law enforcement said he had exhibited mental health problems during an incident at the Anchorage FBI office that led local police to take his gun.
At the same news conference, the Anchorage Police Department said it later returned the gun to Esteban Santiago, 26, after the weapon had been logged into evidence for safekeeping.
“I want to be clear, during our investigation, we found no known ties to terrorism,” FBI Anchorage Field Office Special Agent in Charge Marlin Ritzman said during the short news conference. “He had broken no laws when he came into our office making disjointed comments about mind control.”