SUSPICIOUS

Suspected Ft. Lauderdale Shooter Canceled NYE Trip to NYC

Counterterrorism officials are investigating.

Authorities said Esteban Santiago, the suspected gunman in Friday’s Fort Lauderdale airport mass shooting, canceled a trip to New York on New Year’s Eve, and are questioning if he was perhaps scared off by the city’s heightened security measures. New York City counterterrorism officials are now reportedly looking into Santiago’s plans to determine if he may have been plotting an attack on the city, ABC News reported Monday. He booked his ticket to Florida just a few days after canceling his trip to New York, though it’s not yet clear why he changed his plans, the report said. Santiago made his first court appearance Monday, where he was told he may be facing the death penalty for killing five people in last week’s massacre.