Extra Security At Chicago's Airports After Fort Lauderdale Shooting
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago police continued providing heightened security on Saturday at O'Hare and Midway airports, a day after five people were killed and eight were wounded in a shooting at an airport in Florida.
The FBI was questioning 26-year old Esteban Santiago, the alleged gunman who opened fire at Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Friday afternoon.
Chicago police said they increased security at O'Hare and Midway to make sure travelers are safe. Outside agencies also were helping provide extra security.
Travelers should expect to see additional officers walking in the airport terminals, and added patrols outside the airports.
Passengers arriving from Fort Lauderdale on Saturday said it was unusual, but reassuring, to see a more prominent police presence at O'Hare.
"As I walked through the baggage claim to get to the ticketing area of the airport, I saw a policeman with a very large rifle going across his chest on a strap, and I found that unusual, because you generally don't see something like that, and he was just standing there just making sure everything was quiet and cool," Charlie Walsh said. "So it is intense to see something like that, but on the other side it's also comforting."
Police asked anyone who sees any suspicious activity to report it immediately.
Meantime, at the airport in Fort Lauderdale, flights resumed on Saturday, although the terminal where the shooting happened remained closed. The airport had been shut down after the shooting as law enforcement secured the facility. Authorities also were working to make sure the 20,000 bags and other personal items left behind when the facility was evacuated are returned to their proper owners.
