Fort Lauderdale Airport Killer: Once again extensive interaction with mental health professionals failed to identify someone as a danger to others or himself

Jan 9, 2017 | Featured

In a recent book, The War on Guns (Chapter 10), we showed that during the first seven years of the Obama administration 60 percent of the mass public shooters had been seeing mental health care professionals before their attacks (an earlier less complete report is available here).  Yet, in not one of those cases did the psychiatrists or psychologists who were seeing these killers identify them as a danger to themselves or others.

Esteban Santiago was sent to a psychiatric hospital to be evaluated at the end of last year.  According to CBS:

The FBI confirmed that in Nov. 2016, Santiago-Ruiz walked into an FBI office in Anchorage and claimed his mind was being controlled by a U.S. intelligence agency and that he was being forced to watch videos for ISIS. He was sent to a psychiatric hospital after police were called, sources said. . . .

ABC News noted that local law enforcement had “his mental health evaluated.”  He may have also continued receiving psychological treatment after that.  From Fox News:

Relatives of the man accused of Friday’s shooting rampage at a Florida airport say he had a history of mental health problems and was receiving psychological treatment at his home in Alaska. . . .

NBC News also reports that Santiago was “receiving psychological counseling in Anchorage.”

The bottom line is despite all this psychological treatment apparently no mental health professional identified him as a danger to himself or others.  The Miami Herald contains this puzzling note:

“In 2013, state lawmakers broadened a law banning Floridians who are involuntarily committed from owning guns to include those who voluntarily submit themselves for treatment. None of which would have helped in Santiago’s case.

It is not clear how Santiago could be sent to a psychiatric hospital if it was neither involuntary or voluntary.

As we have previously reported, Florida is one of only six states that ban people carrying concealed handguns in the unsecured areas of airports.  While it is at best only suggestive, the BBC found: “FBI agent George Piro said earlier that the suspect had travelled to Fort Lauderdale specifically to carry out the attack” (h/t Breitbart).

 

johnrlott

1 Comment

  1. nicephotog

    This pitiful animal in the news should help you understand to not bother with the rantings of paranoid dictatorships such as monarchies and Australia.

    http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/sydney-to-hobart-skipper-anthony-bell-to-face-court-on-avo-matter-20170109-gtoh04.html

    More than this , how little a monarchy or fascist countries people care about children as a people “is shown (and as usual)” by an illicit drug taker and drunk can involve himself with children’s charities such as the Loyal foundation and make money , however should you preach true justice and true right and freedom of speech and true democracy (not merely voting for the tax handlers and suggestion box handlers) you will find yourself unable to get a job injured and crippled and starved in the first world.

    Monarchy and fascism do not endeavor to make things better they only allow people they can rip off and use.

    It would be wise to keep all Australians and New Zealanders out of your country or the USA will become as full of drugs Mexico tries to cart, is it little wonder more than once Australia has had drug addicts and drug runners executed in Indonesia and Malaysia and elsewhere!

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