A gunman opened fire in a newspaper office in Maryland's capital Thursday, killing five people and wounding others before being taken into custody in what appeared to be one of the deadliest attacks on journalists in U.S. history, police and witnesses said.
Late on Thursday the suspect was identified by several news organizations as Jarrod Ramos, 38. Police were searching a property in Laurel, Maryland linked to him.
Ramos had a long history of antagonism towards the Capital Gazette newspaper. In 2012 he sued several editors at the paper claiming defamation after one of its columnists, Eric Hartley, reported that Ramos had pleaded guilty to criminal harassment of a woman on social media.
Ramos’ lawsuit was dismissed by a judge in 2013 and that ruling upheld by a higher Maryland court in 2015, as the Capital Gazette itself reported.
In a late press briefing on Thursday, Anne Arundel police named the five employees who died. They were: Wendi Winters, Rebecca Smith, Robert Hiaasen, Gerald Fishman and John McNemara.
Hiaasen’s brother, the best-selling author Carl Hiaasen, wrote on his Facebook page that Robert was “one of the most gentle and funny people I’ve ever known. He spent his whole gifted career as a journalist, and he believed profoundly in the craft and mission of serving the public’s right to know the news.”
The gunman opened fire with a shotgun in the newsroom of the Capital Gazette in Annapolis. Dozens of police officers and federal agents responded within minutes.
“He entered the building with a shotgun and he located his victims as he walked through the lower level,” Krampf said.
He added that two people remained injured with minor wounds. He said officers were informing the next of kin of people who had been killed.
Krampf said officers had secured the suspect’s home in Maryland and were awaiting search warrants. He said a package earlier feared to contain explosives was found to contain smoke canisters.
“This person was prepared to shoot people. His intention was to cause harm,” he said.
Phil Davis, the Capital Gazette’s courts and crime reporter, said the man shot his way in through the newspaper’s glass door before firing at people inside the office. Davis said he heard multiple colleagues being shot as he hid under a desk.
Late on Thursday the suspect was identified by several news organizations as Jarrod Ramos, 38. Police were searching a property in Laurel, Maryland linked to him.
Ramos had a long history of antagonism towards the Capital Gazette newspaper. In 2012 he sued several editors at the paper claiming defamation after one of its columnists, Eric Hartley, reported that Ramos had pleaded guilty to criminal harassment of a woman on social media.
Ramos’ lawsuit was dismissed by a judge in 2013 and that ruling upheld by a higher Maryland court in 2015, as the Capital Gazette itself reported.
In a late press briefing on Thursday, Anne Arundel police named the five employees who died. They were: Wendi Winters, Rebecca Smith, Robert Hiaasen, Gerald Fishman and John McNemara.
Hiaasen’s brother, the best-selling author Carl Hiaasen, wrote on his Facebook page that Robert was “one of the most gentle and funny people I’ve ever known. He spent his whole gifted career as a journalist, and he believed profoundly in the craft and mission of serving the public’s right to know the news.”
The gunman opened fire with a shotgun in the newsroom of the Capital Gazette in Annapolis. Dozens of police officers and federal agents responded within minutes.
“He entered the building with a shotgun and he located his victims as he walked through the lower level,” Krampf said.
He added that two people remained injured with minor wounds. He said officers were informing the next of kin of people who had been killed.
Krampf said officers had secured the suspect’s home in Maryland and were awaiting search warrants. He said a package earlier feared to contain explosives was found to contain smoke canisters.
“This person was prepared to shoot people. His intention was to cause harm,” he said.
Phil Davis, the Capital Gazette’s courts and crime reporter, said the man shot his way in through the newspaper’s glass door before firing at people inside the office. Davis said he heard multiple colleagues being shot as he hid under a desk.
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