Pictured: The Fort Lauderdale 'air rage' gunman who 'argued with passengers' on his flight before he retrieved his handgun from checked luggage and then executed five people in baggage claim

Five people are dead and at least eight people injured after a shooting at the Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport in Florida.

The incident happened around 1pm at the lower level baggage claim area of Terminal 2.  

The gunman - wearing a Star Wars T-shirt - was taken into custody and has since been identified as 26-year-old Esteban Santiago. 

Santiago flew into the airport from Anchorage, Alaska (with a layover in Minneapolis, St. Paul) on Delta flight 2182, and checked a gun for the flight.

After claiming his bag, he loaded the gun in a bathroom and then opened fire on the baggage claim area, Broward County Commissioner Chip LaMarca said.

NBC News reports that Santiago had a history of mental problems, but had reportedly been getting treatment. 

His most recent address was in Naples, but he lived in Anchorage from 2014 to 2016, where his girlfriend and child continue to live. He is also from New Jersey. 

Santiago was a combat engineer in the Army National Guard, and served one year in Iraq before being honorably discharged last year, the Army Criminal Investigation Division confirmed. 

The motive for the shooting is still not known, but Florida Sen. Marco Rubio told CNN that Santiago may have gotten into an altercation on his flight earlier that morning.  

'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,' Rubio said.

Sources also told ABC News that Santiago was contacted by the FBI after an employer back in Alaska raised concerns about certain things he had said. After that meeting, Santiago started getting treatment for his mental health issues.

Santiago (pictured) is said to have a girlfriend and child back in Alaska. He flew into Florida from Alaska on Friday, after transferring at Minneapolis-St. Paul

A picture shared on social media allegedly showed one of the people who was shot by a gunman

A shooting victim is taken into Broward Health Trauma Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

A shooting victim is seen in the back of an ambulance after arriving at the Broward Health Trauma Center on Friday

An armed police officer with his handgun drawn is seen helping a woman evacuate during the chaos

People were seen on the floor trying to comfort loved ones (left), while others appeared to be shielding others (right)