Public security

In Year Before Florida Shooting, Suspect’s Problems Multiplied

Signs of Esteban Santiago’s unraveling had mounted over the last year. But it was not until early November, when he walked into an F.B.I. office carrying an ammunition clip — leaving a pistol and his infant child in his car — to complain about a C.I.A. plot against him, that his behavior became disturbing enough to earn him a short stay in a psychiatric hospital unit.

In the months before, the police were called repeatedly to his home about domestic disturbances, and the National Guard kicked him out because of “unsatisfactory performance” after nearly a decade of service. Mr. Santiago, an Iraq war veteran, increasingly spoke to relatives and associates about voices in his head that were tormenting him.