8 years later, survivor recounts mass shooting at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
FORT LAUDERDALE - Eight years ago Monday, chaos erupted at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport when a gunman opened fire in Terminal 2's baggage claim area, killing five people and injuring six others.
Among those caught in the attack was Annika Dean, who came within steps of the shooter, Esteban Santiago-Ruiz.
"I heard gunfire, and I looked and saw a man shooting," Dean recalled. "I looked for an escape, and unfortunately for me, there was no escape, and I just dropped to the ground."
Moments later, a stranger's act of bravery may have saved her life.
"A man shielded me, a 70-year-old electrician from Rochester, New York, placed his body over me and said he would protect me," she said.
Dean survived, but the experience left her deeply shaken.
"It wasn't until that evening when I went to the store to get some things, and I heard a palette drop in the store. Then that was the first of, you know, what I realized is PTSD-that I have sensitivity to really loud sounds," she said.
Determined to overcome her fear, Dean took trips to Las Vegas and Utah in the following months, but tragedy struck again. While in Las Vegas, she learned of the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival, which killed 60 people.
"That was really upsetting," she said.
Soon after, tragedy hit even closer to home.
"When I started feeling like, 'Okay, I'm fine,' then my son began texting me from Stoneman Douglas that there was a shooting happening," Dean said.
Her son, Austin, was at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the 2018 shooting that killed 17 people.
The cumulative trauma led Dean to seek support, and she now advocates for others coping with similar experiences.
"In the beginning of the aftermath, I felt really alone," she said. "But I've learned that there are so many resources and support groups for people that go through these tragedies, and you can be with people that understand. You don't have to be alone."
Dean emphasizes the importance of mental health awareness and trauma recovery.
"We're not the same. We're never going to be the same. It's going to be something that's always in the back of our mind," she said. "But I'm grateful for all the people that helped our community during that hard time, and I want to be a part of that solution for other communities."
Dean encourages anyone struggling to seek help, saying, "If you need someone to talk to, just dial 211. They'll get you connected to help."
As for the airport shooter, Santiago-Ruiz is serving a life sentence in a federal prison in Indiana.