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The suspected gunman behind the bloody rampage at a Florida airport previously told the FBI he had been forced to fight for ISIS, it has been reported.

Esteban Santiago-Ruiz is being held on suspicion of killing five people after opening fire at a baggage reclaim area at Fort Lauderdale on Friday.

The 26-year-old, an Iraq veteran, was known to the FBI, according to CBS News.

He is believed to have walked into the FBI office in Anchorage last November and told agents he was being forced to fight for ISIS, sources told CBS.

It comes as his aunt, Maria Ruiz Rivera, claimed he was hospitalised with mental health issues after a tour of duty in Iraq five years ago.

She told newjersey.com: "He lost his mind."

The aunt was reportedly visited by FBI agents while she was being interviewed by reporters at her home in Union City, New Jersey.

She said Santiago-Ruiz was happy after the recent birth of his son.

She told the website he “was happy with the kid” after the birth of the child last year.

“I don’t know why this happened,” she told them.

(Image: Fernand Pascoal)

Santiago-Ruiz reportedly appeared alone in the Terminal 2 baggage claim area wearing a Star Wars shirt.

The suspect is believed to be from New Jersey, lived in Alaska for some time and had a concealed carry permit for his gun, American media reported.

Santiago-Ruiz reportedly had a history of mental problems and a criminal record with minor traffic violations.

(Image: Getty Images North America)

In January last year, a domestic violence case saw him was charged with fourth-degree assault and property damage, the Daily Mail reported, but he settled the charges by "agreeing to unknown requirements".

Santiago-Ruiz was said to be receiving treatment for his mental health after being contacted by the FBI when his employer in Alaska raised concerns about something he had said.

He most recently resided in Naples, the website said, but he lived in Anchorage from for two years until last year.

His girlfriend and child continued to live in the Alaskan city.

According to reports, Santiago-Ruiz flew into Fort Lauderdale and his handgun was in his checked bag.

(Image: Splash News)

His itinerary is said to have begun in Alaska before a connecting flight, reported as either Canada or Minneapolis.

Speaking on CNN, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who had spoken with TSA officials today, said that Santiago-Ruiz may have become embroiled in an altercation on his flight.

"I know that was mentioned as a potential cause and they wanted to kind of look into that a little further and get to that point," Senator Rubio said.

The shooting began just before 1pm local time.

On arrival in the baggage claim area Santiago-Ruiz collected his luggage before going into the men’s toilet to take out the weapon, Broward Commisioner Chip LaMarca reportedly tweeted.

Santiago-Ruiz, said to be an army reservist and wearing a blue Star Wars T-shirt, then came out firing.

NBC News said he was born in March, 1990, and recently lived in Alaska.

He was a combat engineer in the Army National Guard, serving in Iraq for 12 months, it was reported.

But he was honorably discharged last year, the Army Criminal Investigation Division told the Daily Mail.

(Image: Splash News)

Air Canada later tweeted: "We confirm that we have no record of such a passenger by that name, or checked guns, on any of our flights to Fort Lauderdale."

The airline had two flights landing around midday from Canada but the services from Montreal and Toronto, due at 11.50am and 12.07pm respectively, were listed as delayed until 2pm arrivals.

The airline told Canadian media it held those flights back.

An Air Canada spokeswoman told CBC all passengers "are accounted for and safe."

"Passengers on our departing flights were safely evacuated on the tarmac and arriving flights 1602 from (Montreal) and 1622 from (Toronto) are being held off gate for the time being," the airline said.

(Image: Getty Images North America)

Police said they would not comment on the shooter for now and what a possible motive could be for the massacre.

The FBI and local police are interviewing him.

Witnesses say he appeared to randomly target his victims during the shooting spree which has left at at least five people dead and many more injured.

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He was stopped by authorities when he paused his killing spree to reload his gun, witnesses said.

The gunman lay on the ground spread-eagled when he surrendered to police.

Police then asked everyone not move and the man was led away.

Mark Lea, a financial adviser from Minneapolis, was in the baggage claim when, he said, a man came in and started shooting.

“I was dodging bullets and trying to help people get out of the way,” the 53-year-old said.

“At first we thought it was firecrackers.

(Image: Twitter/BirSoze)

(Image: Twitter/BirSoze)

“Everyone started screaming and running. The shooter made his way down through baggage claim.

“He had what looked like a 9mm and emptied his entire clip. People were trying to run.”

Lea said police responded in less than a minute after the shooting began.

“It was absolutely surreal,” he said.

“People were scared and frantically running to avoid being shot.

"People were tripping over each other. They were trying to make a fast exit out of the door.”