FT. LAUDERDALE, FLa.- A gunman opened fire Friday afternoon at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida, killing five people and wounding six others, the Broward County Sheriff's Office confirmed. The shooting happened in the baggage claim area at Terminal 2, where Delta Airlines occupies most of the gates.
"I was dodging bullets and trying to help people get out of the way," an eyewitness, Mark Lea, told NBC News.
“At first we thought it was firecrackers," he said. “Everyone started screaming and running. The shooter made his way down through baggage claim. He had what looked like a 9mm and emptied his entire clip. People were trying to run.”
PHOTOS: Shooting at Ft. Lauderdale Airport
Terminals 1 & 2 at the airport were both been evacuated. Passengers from Terminal 1 were seen crossing the airport runways to evacuate off-airport property.
"There will be no movement in or out of the airport until our SWAT teams confirm that it is safe." Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said at a news conference.
There were reports of a second shooting scene inside of a nearby parking garage, but the Sheriff's says they could not confirm another shooting incident.
"Pray for those in the hospital, pray that every one of them survives." Florida Governor Rick Scott said at a news conference in Ft. Lauderdale.
"This is a senseless act of evil....this is not a time to do politics."
Florida U.S. Senator Bill Nelson says the shooter has been identified as Esteban Santiago, based on his military ID. Santiago is a 26 year old from New Jersey, according to NBC News. It is unclear what his motivation for the shooting was at this point.
NBC News reports that Santiago flew into the airport, picked up his bags, then began shooting.
Sheriff Israel reports that the suspect was taken into custody without incident and is being questioned.
Santiago is in federal custody and could make a federal court appearance on Monday, according to officials.
He says it is not clear whether the incident is being considered a terrorist attack and at this point, they believe the suspect acted alone.
All flights in and out of the airport have been temporarily suspended. The FAA has issued a statement about the ground stop.
One Delta Airlines flight from New York's JFK Airport has been diverted to Jacksonville, while others have been diverted to Miami, Tampa, and Orlando.
✈️ TRAFFIC ALERT: Updated FAA statement on @FLLFlyer status: pic.twitter.com/FnpfqNb4NK
— The FAA (@FAANews) January 6, 2017
Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer tweeted he was at the airport at the time of the shooting and "everyone is running." He later tweeted that "all seems calm."
All seems calm now but the police aren't letting anyone out of the airport - at least not the area where I am.
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) January 6, 2017
Passengers were stuck on planes on the tarmac for several hours. Mike Biana posted this Facebook Live to his page from a Southwest Airlines flight. He shared it with First Coast News Janny Rodriguez.
Scott said he has put the Florida National Guard on alert in case their resources were needed.