# Shooting at Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood airport **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 6, 2017, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ft-lauderdale-hollywood-airport/776471 "2017-01-06T19:15:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2017, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ft-lauderdale-hollywood-airport/776471/41 "2017-01-07T10:12:52Z")
Originally Puerto Rican National Guard, then Army Reserve and Alaskan National Guard, followed by general discharge in August for “unsatisfactory performance”, according to this article: [UPDATE: Fort Lauderdale shooter served in Alaska Army National Guard](http://www.ktuu.com/content/news/Fort-Lauderdale-shooter-served-in-AK-Army-National-Guard.html) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2017, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ft-lauderdale-hollywood-airport/776471/42 "2017-01-07T13:08:35Z")
There was initial confusion when we first read the news. A Broward County Sheriff (last name Israel) was repeatedly being quoted. I read “Israel said” and couldn’t figure out why a foreign country was commenting on specifics of a domestic shooting. Anyone else? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2017, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ft-lauderdale-hollywood-airport/776471/43 "2017-01-07T20:05:07Z")
The gun is of course going to be an issue brought up as it always is. An additional wrinkle is that it is now coming out he had a domestic violence history and there was a restraining order in effect. By federal law he is prohibited from owning a firearm. If someone else provided the firearm there may be additional arrests. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ft-lauderdale-hollywood-airport/776471/44 "2017-01-08T04:09:42Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > The gun is of course going to be an issue brought up as it always is. An additional wrinkle is that it is now coming out he had a domestic violence history and there was a restraining order in effect. By federal law he is prohibited from owning a firearm. If someone else provided the firearm there may be additional arrests. The gun had been taken from him by authorities (FBI?) when he went in for psychiatric evaluation and returned to him. If you’re correct about the law then someone dropped the ball. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ft-lauderdale-hollywood-airport/776471/45 "2017-01-08T06:19:44Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > The gun had been taken from him by authorities (FBI?) when he went in for psychiatric evaluation and returned to him. If you’re correct about the law then someone dropped the ball. I’m very correct about the law. Look up the Lautenberg Ammendment. What I’m not sure about are the accuracy of the reports of his domestic violence history. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ft-lauderdale-hollywood-airport/776471/46 "2017-01-08T09:08:45Z")
CNN is reporting that he pled no contest, and that the charges would have been dismissed in March under a deferred prosecution process, if he complied with conditions and there were no further episodes. **Loach** , would that count as a conviction for the federal law? > **[Fort Lauderdale airport suspect used gun once held by police, sources say | CNN](http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/07/us/fort-lauderdale-airport-shooting-main/index.html)** > > The Fort Lauderdale airport shooting suspect, Esteban Santiago, had a gun confiscated and held by police until he picked it up a month later, law enforcement says. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ft-lauderdale-hollywood-airport/776471/47 "2017-01-08T09:15:42Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > The gun had been taken from him by authorities (FBI?) when he went in for psychiatric evaluation and returned to him. If you’re correct about the law then someone dropped the ball. In the same CNN article, it says that he went in for a voluntary psych exam and the police took the gun for safekeeping. When he was released from the psych exam with no further action being taken, the police had no legal basis to hold the gun and returned it to him. > [@US Attorney Karen Loeffler](#): > > "As far as I know, this is not somebody that would have been prohibited based on the information that (authorities in Alaska) have. I think that law enforcement acted within the laws that they have. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ft-lauderdale-hollywood-airport/776471/48 "2017-01-08T09:21:15Z")
Reading that article further, I think I see the answer to the question I asked **Loach** : > [@CNN article](#): > > “He hadn’t been adjudicated a felon and he hadn’t been adjudicated mentally ill” former FBI assistant director and CNN senior law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes said. “So again, you know we have this situation where he slipped through the cracks.” If he hadn’t been adjudicated a felon under the deferred prosecution agreement, wouldn’t that mean that the Lautenberg law wouldn’t apply, so no ban on possession of firearms? ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ft-lauderdale-hollywood-airport/776471/49 "2017-01-08T18:35:47Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > If he hadn’t been adjudicated a felon under the deferred prosecution agreement, wouldn’t that mean that the Lautenberg law wouldn’t apply, so no ban on possession of firearms? When referencing Lautenberg it’s mostly to discuss misdemeanor domestic violence or other restraining orders, not necessarily felons or adjudications of mental defect. There are many ways to be a prohibited person. The criteria under Lautenberg are just some. To answer your question, it would not count as a conviction, however there are other mechanisms to become a prohibited person. Whether the shooter was convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence or subject to a restraining order isn’t clear to me. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ft-lauderdale-hollywood-airport/776471/50 "2017-01-08T20:23:36Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Reading that article further, I think I see the answer to the question I asked **Loach** : > > If he hadn’t been adjudicated a felon under the deferred prosecution agreement, wouldn’t that mean that the Lautenberg law wouldn’t apply, so no ban on possession of firearms? The purpose of the Lautenberg amendment is to prohibit firearm possession from those convicted of a violent domestic violence offense\* even if it is a misdemeanor such as simple assault. Many laws already prohibit felons from owning guns. This is an exception specifically for domestic violence. It also prohibits firearm possession if there is a restraining order in effect. A story I read said there was a current restraining order. I’m not sure if that’s true. If he was the subject of a restraining order or if he was convicted of violent offense he should be prohibited. If it was plea bargained to a non-violent offense it would not be under Lautenberg. Also if the restraining order was dropped. \*Not redundant. Domestic “Violence” statutes often contain non-violent offenses such as burglary and harassment, depending on the state. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ft-lauderdale-hollywood-airport/776471/51 "2017-01-08T20:53:53Z")
Here’s an article about how domestic abusers frequently get to keep their guns. > **[Why Domestic Abusers Often Get to Keep Their Guns](https://www.thetrace.org/2016/10/why-domestic-abusers-get-to-keep-their-guns/)** > > Last month, Rashied Mitchell shot and killed a Seattle mother, Tabitha Apling, in front of their two young children. At the time, Mitchell was subject to a court order barring contact with Apling, his ex-girlfriend. Mitchell had a rap sheet of at... ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ft-lauderdale-hollywood-airport/776471/52 "2017-01-08T21:19:59Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Here’s an article about how domestic abusers frequently get to keep their guns. > > [Why Domestic Abusers Often Get to Keep Their Guns](https://www.thetrace.org/2016/10/why-domestic-abusers-get-to-keep-their-guns/) The exceptions named in that article don’t include Alaska so it’s not really relevant. In this case it looks like he was in some sort of pre-trial intervention program for his assault arrest. If he got through the time period without any other issues the charges would be dropped. It’s pretty standard and done with the cooperation of the victim. In my state they wouldn’t even think of giving back his guns until that period was over. I’m not sure what the law is in Alaska. I have not seen definitively if there was a restraining order in effect. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ft-lauderdale-hollywood-airport/776471/53 "2017-01-08T21:29:44Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > The exceptions named in that article don’t include Alaska so it’s not really relevant. > > In this case it looks like he was in some sort of pre-trial intervention program for his assault arrest. If he got through the time period without any other issues the charges would be dropped. It’s pretty standard and done with the cooperation of the victim. In my state they wouldn’t even think of giving back his guns until that period was over. I’m not sure what the law is in Alaska. I have not seen definitively if there was a restraining order in effect. Of course it’s relevant. It often comes down to individual state laws and practices. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2017, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ft-lauderdale-hollywood-airport/776471/54 "2017-01-09T00:12:48Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Of course it’s relevant. It often comes down to individual state laws and practices. And in this thread we are talking about one particular state, Alaska. Your cite doesn’t mention Alaska as one of the states with loopholes to the Lautenberg Amendment so it’s not relevant to this incident. ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ft-lauderdale-hollywood-airport/776471/55 "2017-01-11T00:02:57Z")
> **[Airport Shooter Converted to Islam, Identified as Aashiq Hammad Years Before...](https://www.judicialwatch.org/airport-shooter-converted-islam-identified-aashiq-hammad-years-joining-army/)** > > The Ft. Lauderdale Airport shooter is a Muslim convert who years before joining the U.S. Army took on an Islamic name (Aashiq Hammad), downloaded terrorist propaganda and recorded Islamic religious music online, according to public records dug up by... ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ft-lauderdale-hollywood-airport/776471/56 "2017-01-11T03:08:26Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > [Airport Shooter Converted to Islam, Identified as Aashiq Hammad Years Before Joining Army | Judicial Watch](http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2017/01/airport-shooter-converted-islam-identified-aashiq-hammad-years-joining-army/) Is this source all that reliable? It seems a bit… bloggy. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ft-lauderdale-hollywood-airport/776471/57 "2017-01-11T04:27:08Z")
> [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > Is this source all that reliable? It seems a bit… bloggy. They’re a conservative “watchdog” group. The exclamation point in their tagline should tell you all you need to know. ETA: Not to say the dude didn’t convert to Islam, I have no idea. Nor do I care. ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ft-lauderdale-hollywood-airport/776471/58 "2017-01-11T18:05:13Z")
> [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > Is this source all that reliable? It seems a bit… bloggy. From ABC news: _Since the attack, investigators recovered his computer from a pawn shop, and the FBI is examining it to determine whether the alleged shooter created a jihadist identity for himself using the name Aashiq Hammad, according to officials familiar with the case._ ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ft-lauderdale-hollywood-airport/776471/59 "2017-01-12T03:27:34Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > From ABC news: > > _Since the attack, investigators recovered his computer from a pawn shop, and the FBI is examining it to determine whether the alleged shooter created a jihadist identity for himself using the name Aashiq Hammad, according to officials familiar with the case._ That’s quite a bit different from what the other site reported. “Airport Shooter Converted to Islam, Identified as Aashiq Hammad Years Before Joining Army” It makes me wonder what they’d pin on me considering my recent confession to trolling. I had two completely separate identities with two different religions back in those days! I guess it’s a good thing neither was Muslim. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ft-lauderdale-hollywood-airport/776471.md?page=2)