the moment to my colleague, craig melvin whose returned. and i'll be back here in a bit. >> we'll sue you back here in an hour. thank you again. live pictures there. this is the tarmac of florida -- excuse me, ft. lauderdale hollywood international airport. this has been the scene on that tarmac for some time now. we've spoken to a number of people who are in that crowd, hundreds if not more than a thousand, most of them are passengers, but you also see sop airport personnel. some members of law enforcement. medical staffers as well on that tarmac. roughly three hours ago, 26-year-old man walked in through the baggage claim area of terminal two and opened fire indiscriminately. that the point, five people are dead, eight people injured, a number of folks on their way to the hospital. at the hospital i should say. at this point. we're waiting to get some sort

of update on their condition. kerry sanders is on sight at the airport again. we are waiting to hear from florida governor rick scott as well. there's a news conference, that's supposed to take place any moment now where we dpopt get an airport. this is the first pictures we are getting of the suspect, esteban santoniago is his name. we're told that the 26-year-old was born in new jersey. he hopped a flight from anchorage, alaska, to minneapolis, st. paul, and from there, he flew to ft. lauderdale airport. took a delta flight anchorage to minneapolis. and landed this morning. kerry sanders standing by for us at the airport. kerry, what's the scene there right now? >> reporter: well craig, the airport is in an lockdown situation. not only passengers who are now frozen in place, but also the whole perimeter of the yarpt is shut down. nobody's driving in or out unless they are law enforcement.

and it's going to be like that for several more hours we're told. passengers who are in termal two which is right over here, many have made their way across the runway. all the way to the far side over there in a hanger. they're separated many of them from their luggage. as we come back here, i can sort of show you et scene, i'm going to walk you over here. there's been so many moving parts and parts of the story that we're believed to be and then turned out not to be the kats. this is terminal one up here. there were reports that there had been gunfire at terminal one and authorities responded as if there had been gunfire. that was incorrect. there was no gunfire there. passengers nonetheless pan ib you canned and made their way out and running. now if i take you way over here, that's down by terminal two. and if you look to the left there, you can see cars parked on the parking garage deck there. the authorities had a report -- we believe it was a 911 call that there was some suspicious car. something suspicious inside the authorities responded there. that turned out to be a false

lead, but every single piece of this has to be followed so that the authorities can determine whether there is a threat or not. all the luggages around the area that was abandoned is also now a concern. as we heard from kate snow just a short time ago, the explosive team, explosives operation deb nation team from the broward sheriff's office was going to and we are now told found a bag that seemed suspicious enough that they had to neutralize it. this is a common thing that they do. they take the bag to an area and then they detonate their own charge around it. we're told that that happened. there was nothing inside. that threat is now gone. we didn't hear any explosions, but we're told that that actually happened. you can see that there is some ambulance -- or fire department lights down there. you see an ambulance making it's way over there. there have been some passengers who were not directly impacted by what happened down at baggage claim in terminal two. but nonetheless, the excitement

of the moment, the rush of people going -- helter-skelter different directions caused them some anxiety and has brought about some additional medical problems and so they, right now, are being attended to and some are only now calming down. the broward hospital system has responded to the wounded and the injured who are now being transported or have already been transported. and the death total as you know stands at five, the suspect who is in custody, we don't know whether he's since been moved. we have shots of him, we're not sure whether he's been moved to another location, but the authorities have been questioning him and at this point, even from my sources, i can't determine whether there is been suggestion of a motive, but of course the question. greg is here, greg, can you talk to me for a second? you can't. greg myers with the airport, are you going have another news conference shortly. >> i don't know about shortly, but yeah. >> reporter: thank you. that is greg meyer with the ft.

lauderdale airport here. he's one of the spokesman for the operation of the airport. they may be having a press conference, but he didn't say shortly. may be getting updated information from them. and then of course, he would answer the question about the operations and what will happen to the passengers who are going to have to spend the night here. how they're going to get their luggage, regroup, and how they're going to rebuild this airport from ground zero, full stop back up. some of the people here, many of the ones i've talked to gotten off a cruise from the caribbean, they were in carefree spirits until they heard the gunshots. >> kerry sanders there at ft. lauderdale, this isn't just an assignment for kerry, this is an area that he knows better than just about any correspondent. he has been reporting in and around the miami area for the better part of 20, 25 years, kerry, stay with us please. i'd like to come back to you in a bit. we are waiting on florida governor rick circuit court scott to hold a news conference any moment now to update us on this situation. on the phone right now though,

florida congresswoman debbie wasserman scholes who represents the 23rd district, this airport, inside the 23rd district. congresswoman, thanks, thanks so much for your time, this evening. at this point, what more do we know about the circumstances surrounding what happened at that airport four hours ago? what more do you know perhaps about this suspect? >> craig, thanks for having me and for doing such a good job covering this and keeping people informed. the most important thing that people should know right now is that this is definitely still an active situation. not in terms of a shooter because it has been determined, from everyone that i have spoken to and i have spoken to the special agent in charge of tsa, the director of the airport, the sheriff, the chief information officer greg meyer who i speak with regularly, and so the rumors earlier about there being

additional shootings, were not accurate. the passengers on planes that have landed are sheltering in place on the airplane. we have passengers throughout the term nam and on the tarmac as you're showing that are sheltering in place and law enforcement as they should be are meticulously securing each terminal to make sure that the airport is secure and people are safe and that they tend to resume airport service. that's the first priority as it should be. >> that's why we are seeing these images of all those folks on the tarmac and we've heard from folks inside the terminal who have been ordered to stay put until police can sweep clean. >> that's right. the shooting only -- as far as the information i have took place in the terminal two baggage claim area that they are searching every single terminal,

every floor, inch to inch, so that they can make sure that there is absolute certainty about the safety of the airport, the airport personnel and the passengers, absolutely safe and that fwl safe to reopen the airport. and then, i mean, as far as the motivations of the shooter, the -- any information about the shooter and even the victims whose next of kin have not even been notified, you know, this is the first thing's first situation. and safety is paramount. >> we should let folks know the image of all those folks on that tarmac, that was from a short time ago. that was taped. that was not live. i do want to call your attention once again, these are our first pictures, first images of the shooter, of this 26-year-old who was reportedly, according to our sources, born in new jersey. he hopped a flight last night

from anchorage, alaska, layover in minneapolis on to ft. lauderdale. and again, at this point, according to eyewitnesss who were just feet away from this man opening fire, they say that he said nothing as he shot indiscriminately inside that baggage claim area. congresswoman, at this point, according to folks that you're talking to, have they gotten control of the airport. >> well, you know, i am certainly not in a position to be able to say that the situation is under control. other than that i am absolutely informed that there was only one shooter and that there were not additional shots fired outside the shots that resulted in the tragic deaths of the five individuals and the eight that were injured and that the other shootings reported earlier,

subsequent to the initial shooting was rumor. and found to be inaccurate. nonetheless, the airport is closed and the terminals are being searched and meticulously secured. i will say, craig, though that i mean and there will be a time and a place, and now is not that time to do the addressing, the, you know, how this happened. but with each security situation in a we have dealt with at airports, and obviously we always balance in the united states the security of our traveling passengers with their ability to have the freedom to travel, you know, the fact that this occurred in a baggage claim area which is not accident occurred, and there's no baggage claim area that's secured in any airport that i'm aware of in the united states, and that allegedly this shooter checked firearms went to the restroom, removed the firearm from his bag and opened near an unsecure

area, this is most definitely something that we are going to need to review. just like we reviewed after the shoe bomber used lighters to ignite his shoes on fire and we banned the use of -- we banned travel with cigarette lighters, just like we ban liquids, so many people are familiar that they can't bring other than a small amount of liquid on planes, you know there was an individual who tried to make a bomb with liquids on an airplane. this is a security situation that's going to need to be reviewed. and i really think, and i will go back to washington on monday and speak to the leadership of the homeland security department as well as tsa, there's definitely going to need to be a review of whether or not we should continue to allow firearms to be ccked and certainly, you know, review the security of baggage claim areas. >> congresswoman debbie wasserman shols there, representing the 23rd district,

broward county, south florida, this is her district. congresswoman, thank you, please come back if there's new information. >> thank you so much. i surely will. >> scene right now again, live look, this is from the helicopter courtesy of our affiliate there in miami, wtvj, these are some of the airplanes that are stuck on that runway if you will. we just heard from the congresswoman a few moments ago telling us that a number of folks who had been ordered to shelter in place on those planes, they are inside those terminals as well at the ft. lauderdale hollywood international airport. they are sheltering in place while law enforcement continues to go floor by floor, the parking garages to continue to search every nook and cranny, if you will, of that sprawling airport. this is one of the 25 -- i

believe somewhere between 20 and 25th largest airports in terms of size and in terms of traffic as well in this country. this is not a small airport. a lot of folks who are going -- going miami used this particular airport to fly into. and a lot of folks who are going on cruises as well, ft. lauderdale a popular port for crews goers. it's the 21st largest in terms of traffic. i've been informed. and that's the scene on the leftd side of your screen. on the right side of your screen, again, you see the microphones there. we are awaiting to hear from florida governor rick scott our expectation was this news conference was going to start roughly 30 minutes ago. he is undoubtedly being briefed by a number of folks on the scene there. we're told that when he finishes up, when he gets all of the information, he will step to the microphones there and pass that information on to us. jim cavanaugh standing by, jim cavanaugh still with us, of

course jim cavanaugh, one of our law enforcement experts here at nbc and jim, let's start with what we know at this point. we know this was 26-year-old man, we know that according to our justice correspondent pete williams, he is also someone who had been dealing with -- we don't know to what degree, but had been dealing with some health problems. he had served in iraq, and came back to the country and according to friends or family members, he sought help and does not appear to be terror-related. again, it's early, but it sounds like this could very well be yet another case of someone who probably should have raised some red flags a few times in their past, but for whatever reason maybe did not or they just have been ignored and now we get this. >> yeah, it has the feeling of a man choking on an empty grudge. it has a feeling of some

spontaneity given the totality of the facts we're looking at as you've just outlined, craig. it doesn't give the feeling of a well-planned, you know, operation of any kind of terrorist organization would to want complete. it just doesn't give the feeling of a person whose well prepared with all kinds of weapons to come in there and do this attack. it has more of the spontaneous feel, and also because he got off the aircraft and we know from the reporting from pete and maybe three magazines. so, you know, going back, walking back this guy's last few hours until what when he boarded in alaska, that's going to be the first part that's critical to the investigators to determine what happened. he's likely told him his reasons, but they've got to walk that back there as well. they've got to do it for the state's attorney. you're going to have -- >> you think he's cooperating, jim? >> yeah.

my feeling is that he is. that he was blathering all over himself to the deputy once they got him in the radio car and also probably on the way to the jail once the detectives asked him what happened. yeah, i think he's talking about it. it's such a homicidal rage to go through to shoot all these people. in such close range, point-blank in the head. that's something in the psyche of a person, you know -- he's not going to be afraid to talk. i don't that he's any kind of a master criminal or carlos the jekyll terrorists. he's going to be telling them why, we just don't know, but i think they probably have a good handle on it. and, you know, we could boil down to some simple motives that we would say, well that's nothing, but to him, it's something. and, you know, something that could have percolated like you described. maybe reports earlier in his history of trouble, but why that

group of people at that moment in time, that also will play something into it as well. so you attack a group for a certain reason. even if there's some mental issues, you still go after the group for certain reasons. that's why we have workplace violence, that's why we have terrorist-specific targets to get the theater to dislodge government to influence politics. there's always a reason. >> jim, let me go ahead and cut you off here. florida governor rick scott and the airport. expecting him to make some comments about take some questions. and rick scott.

>> first thing, you just can't imagine how this could -- how this ever happened in a state like ours. think of the innocent lives that are lost. we still -- according to to the sheriff's department, we have five as you know we have five individuals that lost their life, we still have people fighting for their life in our hospitals. whoever is responsible will be held accountable to the full extent of the law. so let me repeat this, the state of florida, the state of florida, law enforcement in this state will not tolerate evil acts. whoever's responsible will be held accountable to the full extent of the law. i heard about this when i was in ft. myers, i immediately came over here, got her about 1:45r, i've stayed in contact with the sheriff's office, sheriff israel has done an outstanding job, but

the fbi, everybody involved has done an outstanding job. there's been complete coordination between fdle, the sheriff's department, the airport security, all federal agencies, everybody has worked together. i reached out across the state, not only to national guard to make sure they were ready if there was any need for the national guard, but also airports and sheriffs across the state where major airports were to make sure whatever resources they need, the state was available to provide those resources. my heart goes out to every family impacted. the families that lost their loved ones, and the family the individuals that have loved ones still in the hospital fighting for their life. you can't imagine how this could happen to any family, anywhere in the world, but clearly we don't ever want this to nap our great state. i have reached out to president-elect trump and spoken with -- to him and vice president-elect pence multiple

times to keep the informed. and they told me whatever resources that we need from the federal government, they would do everything in their power to make that happen. my number one priority right here -- right now in florida is to keep everybody safe. everybody lives in our state, everybody that travels to our state, do everything we can to keep them safe. as you know, we have -- this is an ongoing investigation. there's a lot of information that law enforcement will put out at the time that they can put that out and they'll do as quickly as they can. but i can tell you, everybody is working hard to find out exactly what happened and to hold whoever did this accountable. i don't ever want this to happen again. to any family, anywhere in the world, but clearly never again in our great state. i'll be glad to answer any questions. >> reporter: how did you get here? >> i flew into executive airport. >> and does the need to provide security for you, detract from the security for the greater

situation can here? >> i don't believe so. i came here as quickly as i could. stay informed, make sure that whatever resources the state needed to provide -- i made sure that the sheriff knew that and the airport knew that. but on top of that, i did that for airports and sheriff departments across the state. on top of that, talking to our national goord make sure they were ready. >> what information do you have on the gunman? >> this is an ongoing investigation. all that information will be released through the sheriff's department at the appropriate time. >> say again -- >> sta us -- >> we don't have details, that'll be released at the appropriate time. right now the biggest thing stood pray for for them. >> the individuals ended up in the hospital, pray that every one of them survives. >> talk to president obama? >> i have not talked to president obama. >> has he reached tout you? >> no, president obama has not reached out to me, but i've

talked to vice president pence and president-elect trump and vice president-elect pence quite a few times to keep them informed. >> did you reach out to obama? >> i have not. >> do you know if the gunman flew through minneapolis or anchorage? >> look, this is an ongoing investigation, the sheriff's department will release information as quickly as they can. >> did president-elect contact you or did you reach out to him? >> i reached tout product trump and vice president-elect pence. >> but you didn't call the president? you called the president-elect? >> absolutely. >> would it be appropriate to call the president for resources? >> i have -- i have a personal relationship with vice president pence and president-elect trump and i reached out. >> any other questions? >> ban on weapons on airports now? >> look, it is horrible what happened here. it's not time to be political. it's a time to mourn those that lost their life, issue in the investigation and pray for everybody that is still fighting for their life. >> one more.

>> do you think the state needs to do something as far as firearms are concerned? you mentioned this is now another incident that we have, a shooting on a large scale, does something need to happen to obviously run percentage? you think that something needs to happen both in the state and nationally? >> let's remember, this is a senseless act of evil. we are going to hold whoever did this actable. it's not time to do politics, it's a time to -- remember, we have an active investigation, finish the investigation, mourn those that lost their life and pray for those fighting who lost their lives. thanks, everybody. >> and there you have it. florida governor rick scott, we do not get a great deal of new information from the governor there. he did say that there were a number of folks who were in the hospital right now. still fighting for their lives. and certainly get some attention at least. and we heard a number of reporters ask the follow-up

question, it would seem as if the governor reached out to president-elect donald trump, vice president-elect mike pence did not reach out to the white house. he also said that he had not heard from president obama that the point. florida governor rick scott there leaving the podium. meanwhile, while that was going on, we just got this from the associated press. according to to the ap, the brother of the suspect here, the brother of the 26-year-old, that man right there, who is in police custody right now, his brother says that he received psychological treatment and psychological treatment in alaska. that brother also confirming when our justice correspondent pete williams told us earlier this afternoon, he had spent some time in the guard as well pete also reporting that he had spent the 26-year-old esteban santiago had also spent some

time serving in iraq as well. he was a veteran. right now he is in police custody. we're told that he was not wounded. an eyewitness told me a few hours ago as he watched all of this go down that it would seem as if to him, again, he was just a few feet away from santiago. it would seem as if the only reason he stopped shooting was and the airport. and he proceeded to walk a few feet. go spread eagle and wait for the police to come and handcuff him. we do not know at this point whether he is cooperating with police. we wouldn't won't know that for some time. this is his picture on the right side of your screen. meanwhile, on the left side of your screen, that was the scene a short time ago. hundreds of people, passengers, essentially sheltering in place according to congresswoman debbie wasserman sholts there, there are still some folks inside the terminal. folks who are already on

airplanes right now, airplanes on the tarmac who have been told that they are going to have to wait there until law enforcement manages to go through that airport, through the parking garages to make sure that this was in fact a lone gunman and that there are also no booby traps or bombs. cal perry has been looking into this suspect into this 26-year-old. what do we know about him? other than his name? >> esteban santiago, from new jersey originally. he was, this morning obviously in alaska, traveled through minneapolis on his way to ft. lauderdale. you've talked a little bit about his military service. he served in iraq for just over a year. we're getting that from some family members as we start to put together this profile of this mass shooter. i want to continue to stress, and craig, you've covered a number of these as have i, it's never one thing.

it's never just a veteran who may have had mental health issues. it's never just somebody who was inspired, it's a combination of things. and that seems to be the picture that we're starting to get here. we're also trying to determine whether or not -- and we have heard this from two law enforcement officials talking to pete williams that there may have been some kind of an incident as you look at the flight path there, some kind of an incident on that flight. you had the dramatic interview with a witness, in baggage claim who we believe was on this flight. now one of the reasons we haven't been able to get back in touch with the witnesses is we understand that everybody on that flight is being held in place as they interview everyone individually. >> ah, that was a report earlier on our air, maybe an hour or so ago. we heard from a lawmaker who said that there was some sort of altercation on the flight. we have not been able to confirm that. i would imagine that of course is going to be one of the things that they're looking to find out during the course of these interviews with folks on the plane. we also are getting in some more

information on this gunman. this is our team of producers and reporters, we can tell you this is according to a phone interview with the brother of the suspect, according to esteban santiago's brother, he was born in new jersey, moved to puerto rico, grew up there, he served in the national guard in puerto rico for six years. he was in iraq for one year. and two days. a year and two days in 2009 or twen, his brother says and the language i suppose is important here, his brother says quote, he was pro-america. he was a pro-america. this coming from his brother. he moved to alaska two years ago for work. according to his brother, he has a female partner and a child, and he was working as a security guard. his brother also tells our team here at nbc news thattest ban

was quote, fighting with a lot of people during his time in alaska. and he wenten to clarify to say that he was having some relationship issues, arguing with his girlfriend and others. the girlfriend, again, this is coming from the brother at this point, but according to to the brother, he was receiving psychological counselling in anchorage as well. again, all of this coming from brian santiago, brother of the man you see on your screen there, esteban santiago who is at this point we're told in police custody. we do not know if he is cooperating. earlier this afternoon, i talked to mark lee, cal perry just mentioned him, his name's mark lee, he was a guy who saw all of this go down. he described in vivid, horrifying detail, what happened. >> he didn't say anything. he was quiet the whole time. he didn't yell at people.

did nothing. he just started shooting, 5'7", about 165, from that point. so he just, like i said just started randomly shooting people. went up and down the carousel to the baggage claim, shooting through luggage to get at people hiding. and just like i said, nine millimeter. three magazines and saw him on the ground -- once he finished shoot, he threw his gun on the ground and laid spread eagle until the first officer came which was probably about a minute later. >> he fully expected to get caught. fully expected to perhaps -- >> oh yeah, yeah, yeah, he didn't run. threw the gun down and laid spread eagle until the officer came up to him. >> one guy. >> reporter: single shooter. one gun, one shooter. >> folks running, folks getting down on the ground, the folks that were with you whereby they all okay? >> yep. the people -- like i said we just landed on that delta flight from minneapolis. so like i said, my wife and i, we are fine.

she ran out of the building. i started helping people get out, older people that kept tripping over each other as they were trying to get out. i got a bunch of people out. i ran back into the building and tried to get more people down or out or kind of safe from cover from that perspective. and you know, like i say, after he got other people down, run out of ammunition and like i said, i was probably within 50 feet of him. and i saw him basically, you know, had a blue polar shirt on there. he threw the gun down on the ground and laid down on the ground spread eagle. and basically had one of the broward county officer came up behind me with his gun drawn and came up behind him and basically until he got him up to him and secured the scene and everything else. >> again, mark lee there who is still sheltered in place at the florida -- excuse me et ft. lauderdale hollywood international airport there in broward county. cal perry also stabbeding by for us here in the studio now. we've got some more information on the shooter here. >> just adding to what you had

said in an interview, the brother said after iraq and the question was, was he suffering from some mental health issues in relation to his service in iraq? he says sometimes he's good, sometimes he's bad. he is significant other he used to fight with a lot. that's something authorities are going to look into. >> let's turn far moment to the big political headline of the day. we'll have much, much more on this story in florida in adjust moment. chuck todd joining us right now. chuck. >> craig, i appreciate it. obviously it's a lot of breaking news. you've been on this story, i've been and the world of russia, i want to bring in a member of the senate democratic leadership, after what's been a big day on the russian hacking front. so let me get you caught up on that story. the intelligence community has just put out a public report after it briefed president-elect trump privately, that says russian president vladimir putin developed a, quote, clear preference for donald trump during the campaign.

the intelligence community assessment also says that putin ordered a campaign to undermine our election and denigrate hillary clinton. we've heard from trump today after he was briefed on all of this, the statement did not acknowledge any of those conclusions. in fact, just hours before his briefing, he told the "new york times" that the issue was turning into a political witch hunt. i spoke with republican senators lindsey graham and john mccain today in and interview that will their full this sunday on meet the press. here's what senator graham had to say. >> i think he's worried that inquiring into what russia did in the election is going to undermine his credibility and his legitimacy. quite frankly, i haven't heard any democrat at all, of prom pans in, say that we doubt that donald trump won. putin's not the reason that clinton lost and trump won. i don't think anybody's saying that. so mr. president-elect, that's not what we're trying to do. what we're trying to do is find out what the russians did in our

elections and make sure that other people, including the russians won't do it next time. >> joining me now is democratic senator of minnesota, she was part of a bipartisan delegation along with mccain and graham who traveled to the baltic states at the end of the 2016 calendar year where they met with foreign leaders to discuss russian aggression. welcome here. and under circumstances in fact obviously you're a senator from minnesota, this flight that this gunman down in ft. lauderdale went through minnesota. we don't know about -- i know you've been concerned and trying to find out what's going on. >> well, we don't know the details on the victims. we know that flight did come from minneapolis, st. paul, we're a hub. and of course our heart goes out to everyone in in florida. all the victim's families, and this just can't be the new normal. and we've got to get to the bottom of what happened here. and we will certainly be looking to see if anyone from minnesota was a victim. >> let me move to the russia story today. first of all, you've seen the

declassified briefing. do -- is there any doubt in your mind that russia was a state sponsor here? any doubt? >> no. we have 17 intelligence agencies that have firmly said that this was going on in this declassified report. we have three prominent agencies that are saying, including the fbi and the cia, and they're basically saying here, they had high confidence that this was directed by vladimir putin. this campaign to influence our elections. >> is there anything in here that's made you question whether the election was free and fair? >> well first of all, any influence from a foreign entity makes an election not fair. whether it hurts the democrats, republicans, no matter what country it's in. i don't think we will ever really know the effect and how much influence it had on the outcome, but our goal here is to get out the information so that citizens of america understand what happened. so this can't happen again. and that we allow other

democracies to see this. upcoming elections in germany and france. senator graham and senator mccain and i were just in astone ya, they all told us horror tales of how russia had hacked into their own democracies and elections. >> president-elect donald trump calls you up tomorrow and says, why -- this is, you know -- this is a distraction. we should move on. what would you say to him based on what you've learned in this traveling to the baltic states and say wait a minute, this is not about hillary clinton anymore. >> well, i would first say one of his lines was we have to move on with our lives. well our lives are based on our constitutional freedoms with on our democracy, our freedoms to assemble, our freedoms to speak, our freedom of press, and what we learned was in astonia years ago, they had the audacity to move a bronze statue from a cemetery and russia then comes in and hacks in and cults off thafr internet access. in lithuania, they had the

extended an invitation to members of ukraine, parliament that were in exile and crimea which russia illegally annexed and lithuania gets hacked into for just inviting them to an anniversary of their independence. this is happening. these countries have seen this movie before. they consider it an assault on democracy, that's why we have the sanctions in place in addition to their illegal invasions. >> what are they asking the united states to do? >> a few things. they first to want see troops. they want to see u.s. troops continue presence on the border and training their troops. i think that's important. they want to continue trade with the u.s. so that they are there we have friendships with these countries that have been brave enough to basically break off from russia and have their own democracies. and then they want to make sure that we are standing up for them, not just in our rhetoric, but in our actions. some of them want ukraine would like to see some defensive weapons. georgia would like to see us

help them when russia has illegally gone into 20% of their territory and they would like to join nato. >> should that be the retaliation? right there, what you just described. okay, ukraine, you want this, here you go. astone ya, should that that be the retaliation? >> i think that should be part of our goal here to protect these countries. and there's a reason that they have record number was people that are volunteering for their military. in places like iowa stone ya which is not exactly in the tips of america'sening tos, and i think helping them making clear we stand by them, building up nato, asking europe to continue their support and expand their support of nato. looking at defensive weapons if our military believes that helpful,ic all of those things shub on the table. >> let me ask you the sort of counterquestion is why is this different? what putin has now done -- why is this different than the united states fermenting democratic protests in moscow?

>> well, this is very different because what this is is a cyber attack on our country, on our democracy where they basically have stolen information right. they went into people's computers. they weren't just spying on them and director clapper made distinguished -- >> you think there is a distinguishment between ops nauj. >> there is. in the intelligence community there is. they're spying goes on all the time. but in this case they didn't just buy, they took the information to disrupt and election. and that is a step beyond what we have seen before in america. >> all right. senator, leave it there. democrat from minnesota. just came from eastern europe, i imagine this is going to be a story we keep talking about. >> i hope so. >> tune in sunday to meet the press with john mccain and lind say graham, two republicans to convince donald trump to take this russian aggression more seriously. craig. get back to you. >> we'll be watching, chuck, thank you. again, let's bring folks up to speed on what's happening

right now. again, this is broward county, florida, this is the scene at ft. lauderdale hollywood international airport. roughly four and a half hours ago now, it was just after 1:00 eastern, a man, a 26-year-old according to police, a 26-year-old walked into terminal two into the baggage claim area, there's a picture of the suspect, bomtd right of your screen. he walked in -- or may have already been in baggage claim. there's still some uncertainty as to circumstances, but he opened fire. eyewitnesss say he was holding a 9 millimeter handgun which he reloaded several time. he was shooting indiscrimina indiscriminantly. only stopped because he ran out of bullets. that the point he gets down, he goes spread eagle. according to eyewitnesss, and waits on the police to come and arrest him. that the point we're told he is in police custody. we do not know whether he is

cooperating with police, but we've heard from a number of people at this point that he is believed to have been a lone gunman. they do not believe that there are other gunman at the airport right now. nonetheless though, people are still sheltering in place. we heard from democratic congresswoman debbie wasserman shuls a short time ago. she said there were still people in the terminal on the tarmac and actually still on airplanes as well. while members of law enforcement work to make sure that the scene is clear. we saw some time ago these, these s.w.a.t. team members going floor to floor in a parking garage just to make sure that the scene is clear. hans nichols is at the white house for us. and hans, i know that you have been looking to the suspect's military record. we heard from our justice correspondent pete williams a short time ago that he was a member of the guard and had done something -- spent some time in

iraq. what more can you tell us? >> he was in iraq for less than a year. the deployment was for less than a year. he was in the national guard, enlisted in puerto rico in 2007 and leaves in december 2008. and, you know, here's what we're hearing. and he will be updated as a situation. we'll get more and the side from donald trump's side as well. vice president-elect mike pence they've both spoke within rick scott, the governor of florida. he is providing them briefings here, and in general, we've had too many to count to actually, you know, to take a moment to say there is a pattern, there is a standard here. they gather all the information, sometimes the president comes out and makes a statement. don't think we're going to hear from the president on camera directly tonight, but he has been giving interviews. there's always a chance we'll hear what the president has to say and the latest from him. >> one of the things that sfruk a number of folks during the

brief news conference from rick scott here was that the governor said several times that he had spoken with the president-elect donald trump, the vice president-elect mike pence, but he had not spoken with president obama. he had not reached out to the white house, the white house had not reached out to him. what more do we know about that and if that's the case, do we know why? >> well, we don't know why. and i wouldn't read too much into this, it's a fluid situation, they're gathering all the facts. in general the president's top aids give him briefings, they're in touch with law enforcement officials at the state, federal, and local level. whether or not there's a governor to presidential conversation -- i wouldn't read into it. in the past yes, there have been conversations, but we know that rick scott has relationships with mr. trump and mr. mike pence, perhaps it was having the contact numbers ready and giving them the briefings and because president obama gets briefings. >> hans nichols, 1600

pennsylvania on this friday evening. hans, thank you, sir. again, that the point we know that five people are dead. as a result of the shooting work at least eight people are hurt, florida governor rick scott saying that there are also a number of people in the hospital who are in critical condition. earlier i talked to an eyewitness to the shooting. his name was john. he was standing just a few feet away from the gunman, and he told me that he is very, very lucky to be alive. >> we were standing at baggage here, we were waiting for our luggage to come up. the first ten or so bags came up when i heard the first shots. i wasn't sure what it was at first, but i saw the person right to my side fall to the ground, and i turned and looked, and the shooter was in the center hallway, just outside of, just next to the catcher on two

and number one right between there. and he was holding the black handgun. and shooting randomly to the crowd. and there were elderly people that were shot and killed. there were two people to my left and two people to my right that were shot. and several of them died. >> john, as you watch this unfold, could you make out whether this man was saying anything while he opened fire? >> when i looked over at him whereby he said nothing. he said nothing. he was just shooting. and when i -- as i said, i had just pulled the first piece of luggage off the carousel when i heard the first shot. and as i turned and saw him standing -- there was -- the hallway, and he didn't say anything. he just was firing.

he did have time to reload his gun before he started firing a second time. >> did he appear to be acting alone. was he be himself? >> as far as i could see, yes. he was by himself. >> and our sources have confirmed that. they do believe that he was in fact acting alone. 26 years old. sources close to the investigation telling us that esteban santiago flew from anchorage, alaska, hopped a flight to minneapolis, st. paul, and then on to ft. lauderdale airport. it was a delta flight that he took, both legs of delta flight. that the point, again, he is in police custody, cal perry again, working with our investigative unit here. what more do we know about this suspect? >> he was born in new jersey. moved to puerto rico as a toddler. that's where he grew up. their mother still lives there. served in the national guard in puerto rico for six years before

he went to iraq in 2009. he was there for one year, and two days. he then moved to alaska, about two years ago. he worked as a security guard. he has a significant other and we're starting to have a picture painted of a very difficult relationship. a relationship that was frougt with fighting. this is from one of his family members, quote, he would fight with a lot of people during his time in alaska. he clarified his brother then said he clarified it to say he has relationship issues and issues arguing with other people and that he was quote receiving psychological counselling in anchorage. he did have a handgun and his brother said that in alaska, guns are legal and so he had a handgun. his guard service reads like this. he joined the national guard december 14, 2007, he was dep y deployed to iraq on april 23rd of 2010. and he received a general discharge. he did not leave on any bad

terms. as we continue to try to and our investigative unit specifically tries to probe and sthfs what she said. and this was a quote. when he came back from iraq, he was not feeling good. they put these kids in war and when they come back, they don't do anything for them. so certainly his aunt telling our investigative team that she worried about his psychological health when he returned from iraq. >> the headline being, according to his brother, he was receiving psychological counselling in alaska. we are going to take a very quick break here. when we come back, we will continue our coverage of this situation there in ft. lauderdale, florida. stay with us, this is msnbc.

the scene this is start happening a last few minutes this is scene outside of the hospital there. in broward county. again we heard from florida governor rick scott 30 minutes ago telling us there were number of people inside of the hospital fighting for their lives. we maybe getting an update from the hospital any moment. we are keeping a close eye on

the left side of the scene when that happens. let's go to vice president president-elect mike pence. >> to the courageous first responders who all of the citizens of the fort lauderdale area. it's very challenge time and we just hung up from our latest conversation with governor scott. he briefed president-elect and myself several times this afternoon we are grateful for his leadership. in the fort lauderdale. heartbreaking loss of live as i said the hearts of every american are in fort lauderdale tonight. we did this afternoon complete an extennive previousing from the lead dears of our intelligence community.

it was as president-elect said it was constructive and respectful dialogue. and president-elect is made it clear that we're going to take aggressive action nlt early days of our new administration to combat cyber attacks and protect the security of the american people from this type of instrugs in the future. but i know the president-elect appreciated the presentation made by the leader and i know the president-elect and i both appreciate the sacrifices that the men and women who serve in our intelligence services around the count and around the world provide in cribbing to the safety and security of the american people. thank you all very much. >> do you and the president -- >> you have vice president

president-elect mike pence on the right side of theed squeen outside of trump tower also talking about the intelligence briefing that he and the president-elect received promises swift action to try to combat cyber terrorism. did not name russia or china. this is broward medical center this news conferences taking place. let's listen. >> so that will be left to the other press releases and they do that. >> what can you tell us about -- for this type of mass cashly what was it like for you to. >> if youtube a video of it it would look like ka os but kroled. this whole system worked very well today. i was proud of everybody there. we trained for this and ad infi

night tim and i think as a level one center, broward county shined very well today. >> the last one i remember being involved in was the haiti earthquake, that's what i remember offhand. >> can you tell us about -- >> i should leave that for the press people. >> no only two. >> we are talking gunshots. >> under investigation we should not give out any information. thank you, very much and we appreciate it. >> i'm being tapped. >> you said are five are in stable -- >> there are you have what appear to have been ahastingly called news conference outside of broward hospital there.

we did not get a great deal of information. there are privacy concerns that have to be protected. we were told a family members have have to be contacted as well. we will be keeping an eye on that situation at hospital. can you see a very law enforcement presence and that is expected to be the case for some time. we also just learned a short time ago courtesy of the associated press that the suspect here received what's called a general discharge from the alaska army national guard last year for unsatisfiry performance. the lieutenant clon yell did not

release -- join -- the suspect esteban santiago joined in november of 2014 and spent a year in iraq. he was deployed in 2010, spent a year there with 103 ba -- battalion. you thought the suspect was coop cooperating with police right now. what makes think that? >> when you go into that homicidal rage, they turn to you, a guy like this surrenders easily. it doesn't seemed like a well-planned attack. it seemed more of spontaneous

event. i believe, i can't be sure, it's just a speculation and some experience he may have blab bered his reason, none of us can understand to the deputy when they interviewed him. he may tell them i was mad or i was sick because of that or i thought these people was going to hurt me or whatever his reason but i believe they will get it out of him. the good detectives will have progress on that already. >> all right, jim, thank you for your insight and perspective. i'll do my best to describe the scene. this appears to be airport hanger we were told at the top of the hour by florida congresswoman who represents the district in which this airport is locate that people are told

to sheltering in place inside this airport hanger. a number of people are on the tarmac there. they are being told they have to stay in the terminals where they were. there were a number of people who were still stuck on their airplane. we do not control this helicopter camera, you could see a number of airplanes that were on the tarmac. throughout our we have been learning new information of the suspect. 26-year-old esteban santiago. we told he flew from angage alaska described in great