Florida airport shooting victims included man from NJ, report says

FT. LAUDERDALE — The first identified victim from Friday's mass shooting by a New Jersey native at Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport also has a connection to the Garden State.

Terry Andres, 62, of Virginia Beach, was identified by WAVY-TV in Virginia Beachas one of the five victims killed in the shooting, which also left six other people recovering from gunshot wounds.

Andres was a graduate of Millville High School in South Jersey, according to his Facebook page, and worked at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. He was also a volunteer firefighter.

Andres was starting a vacation with his wife, Ann, according to the report. She was not injured in the incident. One of his two daughters told WAYV that Andres' birthday was later this month.

Ralph Rowley, the minister of Andres' church in Virginia Beach, offered prayers on his Facebook family for Andres' family.

He had been married for over 30 years, according to his Facebook profile. SNJ Today reported that Andres still has family in the Millville area.

Esteban Santiago, a 26-year-old resident of Alaska who served in the Alaska National Guard and born in New Jersey opened fire in the Delta terminal killing five people and wounding six. Law enforcement previously had counted eight wounded survivors, but corrected the number on Saturday.

“He lost his mind,” Maria Ruiz, a city resident, is quoted by NJ.com as saying in Spanish.

His aunt told NorthJersey.com that her nephew “said he saw things.”

“Like a month ago, it was like he lost his mind,” she’s quoted as saying.

In recent years, Santiago — a new dad, family said — had been living in Anchorage, Alaska, his brother, Bryan Santiago, told The Associated Press from Puerto Rico. Bryan Santiago said his brother's girlfriend had recently called the family to alert them to his treatment.

In November, Esteban told FBI agents in Alaska that the government was controlling his mind and was forcing him to watch Islamic State group videos, a law enforcement official said. The official was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation by name and spoke Friday on condition of anonymity.

Esteban Santiago was born in New Jersey but moved to Puerto Rico when he was 2, his brother said. He grew up in the southern coastal town of Penuelas before joining the Guard in 2007.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com.

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