Evil manifests itself in 2 acts of pure terror in US

222The obvious answer: We have no sense of decency, your honor.

Only one word can describe the accused acts of pure terror against an innocent, defenseless human being: evil.

Likewise, the Iraq war veteran accused of killing five travelers and wounding six others Friday at the busy Fort Lauderdale, Fla., airport also perpetrated an act of terror that could only be viewed as evil.

Indeed, Esteban Santiago, 26, told investigators that he planned the attack, buying a one-way ticket to Fort Lauderdale from Alaska.

Santiago has been charged with an act of violence at an international airport resulting in death – which carries a maximum penalty of execution – and weapons charges.

The question that demands an answer is this: Why was the accused given back a gun that was taken from him in November after he walked into the FBI field office in Alaska saying the federal government was controlling his mind?

Santiago told agents that the government was forcing him to watch Islamic State group videos.

After agents seized the gun and loaded magazine, local police officers took him to get a mental-health evaluation.

On Dec. 8, the gun was returned to Santiago. Authorities will not say if it was the same weapon used in Friday’s bloody attack.

CHICAGO ATTACK

In Chicago, the unanswered question is this: Why would four suspects who hold jobs, attend school and, in one case, care for a brother in a wheelchair attack the 18-year-old victim?

Judge Ciesil of the Cook County Circuit Court was right in denying bail and saying to the accused: “I find each of you a danger to yourself and society.”

One of the assailants captured the beatings of the mentally disabled man on cellphone video, which has been viewed millions of times on social media.

The suspects have been identified as Brittany Covington and Tesfaye Cooper, both of Chicago, and Jordan Hill, of suburban Carpentersville. All three are 18. The fourth suspect was identified as Covington’s 24-year-old sister, Tanishia Covington, also of Chicago.

Here’s some insight into the accused that makes this case so incomprehen- sible: Cooper takes care of his twin brother, who is in a wheelchair; Tanishia Covington has two small children; her sister attends college and has a job; Hill goes to church with his grandmother.

To further illustrate the evil nature of the incident, which began New Year’s Eve, the victim and Hill met at a suburban McDonald’s, and the victim called his parents to say he was staying with Hill for a sleepover. They are school mates.

But rather than a sleepover, Hill drove the victim around in a stolen van for a couple of days, ending up at a home in Chicago, where two of the other suspects lived. The victim told police that what began as playful fighting escalated.

A downstairs neighbor who heard noises threatened to call police. When two of the suspects left and kicked down the neighbor’s door, the victim escaped. A police officer later spotted the bloodied and disoriented young man wandering down a street.

The victim’s parents reported him missing last Monday evening, two days from last hearing from him. They later received text messages from people claiming to be holding their son captive.

The footage of the attack shows the suspects taunting the victim with profanities against white people and President-elect Donald Trump.

A prosecutor told the judge the suspects forced the victim to drink toilet water, kiss the floor and then allegedly stuffed a sock into his mouth and taped it shut as they bound his hands with a belt.

There are other blood-curdling, inhumane acts against the defenseless young man that should anger all decent human beings, regardless of race and color.

Such evil cannot be shrugged off as the actions of individuals who may believe that society has somehow treated them unfairly.

The fact that they chose to target a mentally disabled man speaks volumes about their lack of morality and any sense of decency.

The four suspects deserve the harshest punishment available under the law.

The evil on display at the Fort Lauderdale airport and in Chicago should cause us all to take stock of what is occurring in America today.