N.J. aunt of Ft. Lauderdale airport shooting suspect: 'He lost his mind' in Iraq
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Santiago-Ruiz grew up in the southern coastal town of Penuelas in Puerto Rico, said his brother, Bryan Santiago. He joined Puerto Rico's National Guard.
He was deployed to Iraq in 2010 and spent a year there with the 130th Engineer Battalion, the 1013th engineer company out of Aguadilla, according to Puerto Rico National Guard spokesman Maj. Paul Dahlen.
After his tour, he was hospitalized for mental problems, then went back to Puerto Rico, where his father was ill and eventually died, said Ruiz Rivera, his aunt.
While in Puerto Rico, Santiago-Ruiz was in therapy for his mental problems, his uncle said.
The Iraq War veteran eventually made his way to Alaska, where he fathered a baby born in September.
A spokeswoman for the Alaska Army National Guard said Santiago-Ruiz joined the Guard there in November 2014, but general discharge from the Alaska Army National Guard last year for unsatisfactory performance. Lt. Col. Candis Olmstead did not release details about the discharge, which was in August 2016.
So. He's an Iraqi war vet with PTSD.
BS. He’s a recruit. To ISIS.