5 dead in Annapolis after gunman opened fire at Capital Gazette newspaper office (original) (raw)

Thu, June 28th 2018 at 3:02 PM

Updated Fri, June 29th 2018 at 11:36 PM

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An active shooter was reported at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Md., Thursday, June 28, 2018. (WJLA)

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Annapolis, Maryland Anne Arundel County, Maryland Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area Geography of the United States Maryland Maryland Gazette The Capital Tronc, Inc.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (ABC7) — Five people are dead after a shooter opened fire at the Capital Gazette newspaper on Bestgate Road in Annapolis around 2:30 p.m. Thursday, police say.

Authorities say the suspect, who is in custody, is a white male in his late 30s and a Maryland resident.

Multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News the alleged shooter is being tentatively identified as Jarrod Ramos of Laurel, Maryland.

Ramos had previously sued the paper for defamation and lost.

After a lengthy search of the office building, police confirmed they don't believe there were other assailants. The suspect and police did not exchange gunfire when he was taken into custody, officers say.

Two people who were injured were transported with minor injuries to Anne Arundel Medical Center, a hospital spokesperson says. The victims did not suffer gunshot wounds, and one has been released. The other is expected to be released this evening.

A third injured person was transported to the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. That person's condition is not known.

One of the five who died was transported to a hospital and died there. The other four died on the scene.

On Thursday night, police confirmed that Capital Gazette editor and columnist Rob Hiaasen, reporter Wendi Winters, sales assistant Rebecca Smith, editorial writer Gerald Fischman and editor John McNamara were killed during the shooting.

Hiassen's brother, novelist Carl Hiassen, shared an emotional Facebook post following his brother's death:

About 170 people were escorted out of the building safely, police say. The building also contains other types of businesses, including a doctor's office and dentist's office. The scene has been handed over to crime scene investigators.

Investigators say the suspect used smoke grenades in his attack and that a bag of those were found inside the Capital Gazette building.

“This person was prepared today,” said Anne Arundel County acting police chiefWilliam Krampf.

After the incident was over, a Capital Gazette reporter tweeted that the shooter shot through the glass door of the office before opening fire on employees.

An intern tweeted for help as the incident was actually happening.

"The offices are on the ground floor,"Tom Marquardt, the former Editor of the Annapolis Capital told ABC News. "The newsroom is very open. We wanted people to feel free to come in and discuss the issues of the day. We dealt with threats in the past. We were always very concerned about security. It was an open building. We didn’t want to been seen like a closed institution. But there were angry readers. We’ve had time where we had threats because of who we endorsed for an election. I personally got threats. Others got threats. In my day we did call the police a couple times. But these were mostly anonymous. Nothing like this."

The current online editor tweeted that he is "heartbroken" and "numb."

Capital Gazette Communications LLC publishes The Capital, a daily paper that serves Annapolis, Anne Arundel County and Kent Island. The company is one of the oldest publishers in the country. It started in 1727 with the birth of the Maryland Gazette. Capital Gazette Communications moved to its current offices at 888 Bestgate Road in September 2014.

The New York Police Department has deployed "counterterrorism teams to media organizations in and around New York City...out of an abundance of caution," following the incident.

Governor Larry Hogan was on the scene in Annapolis quickly Thursday, releasing the following statement:

President Donald Trump also tweeted after being briefed on the incident.