Menu
'A thunderous commotion'
When Bob Farmer of Fort Scott thought about what to get his family for Christmas, he realized everyone already had all they needed in the way of material possessions.
What they all could use was some family time -- something relaxing, something like a cruise. They all agreed that was a great idea. Plans were made to board a cruise line on Jan. 7 and bags were packed.
But the trip was anything but relaxing. A portion of the Farmer family found themselves in the midst of an active shooter situation Jan. 6 at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Bob, his wife Cassi and two daughters, Lauren Lyons, 13, and Brooklyn Lyons, 14, took a Delta flight to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Jan. 6. His daughter Christa Horn, her husband John and three children, decided to fly into Miami, then take a shuttle to Fort Lauderdale where they would all board a cruise ship.
"I like to go a day earlier. It's more relaxing," Bob said.
After departing from the airplane, Bob, Cassi and the two girls were walking through the airport when they stopped before getting on the escalator to go downstairs to the baggage checkout. One of the girls had to use the restroom, so Cassi took that girl in while Bob waited outside with the other girl.
"About two to four minutes later, we heard a thunderous commotion downstairs," Bob said. "It sounded like chairs and tables being knocked over. And then hundreds and hundreds of people started running past us as fast as they could, yelling 'Gun! Gun!' I had no idea what was occurring."
Then he saw a man from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) run by them and pass some of the others fleeing down the hall.
Cassi and their daughter came out of the bathroom, asked what was happening and Bob told them.
"If we had gotten on that escalator, we would have been half way or all the way down where the shooter was," Bob said.
Soon a Delta airline representative came by and told everyone to get out through a door. When he questioned one of the customer service representatives, he was told everyone was being instructed to evacuate and the building was being locked down.
"We found ourselves down on the tarmac," Bob said.
He said it was 10 minutes before anyone had enough information to tell everyone what had happened.
"Some people had been shot to death and others were wounded," Bob said. "But no one had any idea where the shooter was. We started getting different reports."
He said one man outside on the tarmac was on a cell phone talking to his wife, who was in a safe area inside the building. Bob said the man wanted to go back in and get his wife, but the officials would not let him.
"So we were on the tarmac and it's 80 degrees and people are starting to get hot," Bob said. "We were there for two hours, huddled under the edge of the terminal building in a confined space."
Airport staff began bringing water and snacks, which Bob said helped, but there were no restroom facilities available. A representative gathered a small group of people together and was about to lead them inside, but about that time, a sheriff's deputy came out in full tactical gear, "armed to the teeth," and said although the area where the group would have be led through had been cleared, the restrooms had not.
That's when they learned they had been huddling "just an arm's length" away from the baggage area where the shooting had taken place.
"That was a sobering thought," Bob said.
From then on, Bob and his family experienced pandemonium and the effect of bad communication. Someone shouted "Run, the shooter is outside," and the same stampede that had occurred inside was repeated outside, except this time it was worse.
As the throng ran to another terminal building, eyeglasses, purses, bags, shoes and other items went flying and some people were trampled.
"Children got lost and their mothers were crying, trying to find them," Bob said. "That had just created more terror. My little girls were hysterical. I never saw so many tears in my life."
But he said, he witnessed Cassi's strong maternal instinct.
"She was doing everything but laying on top of her babies," Bob said. "I assumed the role of being stoic and keeping everybody as calm as possible."
He said one airline employee came by, put her arms around both the girls and told them, "You're in a good place."
Everyone hunkered down again, started catching their breath and waited another 40 minutes.
It was during this time that Bob received a text from Christa, asking if they were at a hotel yet.
"I responded back, "No, we're in the middle of an active shooter at Fort Lauderdale. Turn on CNN.'" He later learned from his grandchildren that
Christa "lost it" with emotions.
Just as everyone was settled, someone yelled "Shooter, shooter!" and everyone began running again.
"There was as much terror from being trampled as from some gunman shooting at us," Bob said.
This time the group was directed to the airstrip, but an airport employee informed them they could not be there, even though all air traffic had been halted, Bob said. They were then taken to a general aviation area, but because of the equipment inside, the doors were being closed and locked. Everyone stood outside in a fenced area. About 45 minutes later, a sheriff's vehicle pulled up and an officer started talking through a bullhorn. Because not everyone could hear what was being said, Bob said the people in front would turn and pass the word to those behind.
They were being moved again, another half quarter of a mile away to a hangar with a secured area -- the hangar for the Miami Dolphins -- and everyone finally started relaxing.
"We'd gotten so many reports, the shooter was on the roof, the shooter was outside," Bob said.
Bob said they had been outside the main terminal for five and a half hours, but the truth was, the active shooter incident ended 10 minutes after the shooter first fired his gun. Bob said the shooter had transported his gun in a bag on an airplane, and after he landed, he claimed his bag, went inside a restroom and loaded with ammunition he had transported separately.
Bob said looking back, even though the stampedes had been terrifying, they at least had been outside instead of locked in a safe room inside.
He also feels fortunate the family had not been separated, as he and the other daughter could have gone down to the baggage claim area while the other two were in the restroom.
When it was decided they were finally safe, they were allowed to leave the airport after speaking with law enforcement officials about what they might have witnessed.
But their luggage had to stay behind as each bag in the claim area was searched. Bob, Cassi and the girls went to a hotel to spend the night.
The next morning, Bob got up early and tried to contact the airline about their baggage, but got a recording stating there was a two-hour wait to speak to a representative. Finally, they agreed to replace everything they had packed. That involved a two-hour shopping trip to a nearby Target.
As it turned out, they were the third group of customers that day that had been through the episode. Target offered a card, which would give them a discount on the items they had purchased, but when that process was taking a long time, a manager came to their assistance and manually gave them a discount.
In the meantime, because of the incident, the ship delayed its departure, which meant Bob and his family didn't board until after dark. The ship crew was kind to them and one crew member gave Bob what he calls the "secret" baggage claim phone number. After calling the number, he learned their luggage had been cleared and the woman offered to personally make sure the bags were flown to Kansas City -- and the bags were there when they arrived.
Bob and his family began to relax, he said he tried to talk to other people about the experience a few times and found himself breaking down. He said everyone is doing better now, but he still flinches when he hears a loud noise.
"It's just one of those life's lessons. You don't have to be doing anything wrong, you can just be in the wrong place at the wrong time," Bob said.
He said looking back, his advise to anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation is to not panic.
"I saw a lot of people get hurt because of bad information...and I blame the authorities," Bob said.
He said after returning to Fort Scott, he read a newspaper article that stated 160 law enforcement positions were removed from the airport and many were placed back on street patrol. Bob said simply having a law enforcement presence in the baggage area might have made the shooter think twice.
As for future trips, Bob said he and Cassi have discussed a getaway that won't involve any airports.
But for now, he is enjoying the peace and quiet of a life with a routine in Fort Scott where he has lived his entire life and worked as an attorney for the past 43 years.
"Fort Scott looks pretty damn good," Bob said.
Editor's Note: Esteban Santiago was arrested "without incident" at the airport and taken to the Broward County Jail. He charged him with killing five people and injuring six others. On Jan. 30, he entered a not guilty plea to 22 charges against him. The most serious charge, violence at an international airport causing death, carries a death sentence. According to online news reports, Santiago purchased a one-way ticket from Alaska to Fort Lauderdale two days before his flight, which was on Jan. 5. The reports state his gun was contained in the only baggage he had checked at the airline.