Deadly shooting at Maryland newspaper

From Governor Larry Hogan’s Office:

Three of the newspaper shooting victims had ties to the University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism, according to the University’s statement.  

“We’re heartbroken,” Lucy Dalgish, dean of the Merrill College, said in a statement. “This was a senseless attack on journalists who worked hard to serve their community.” 

She added: “We cannot stop thinking about our friends and colleagues in Annapolis and their families.”

The staff of Capital Gazette put out a newspaper yesterday, despite the shooting that happened in its newsroom.

Rob Hiaasen, an editor for the paper killed in the shooting, would have been proud of the staff, his brother tells CNN.

“I mean, you go in and put out a newspaper. That’s your job. And that’s what “The Capital Gazette’s staff did yesterday, despite this horrible, horrible tragedy,” Carl Hiaasen told CNN.

Anne Arundel police identified the suspect in yesterday’s Capital Gazette shooting as Jarrod Ramos. He’s 38 years old and from Laurel, Maryland.

He has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder.

A law enforcement source tells CNN the suspect initially refused to cooperate with police. He had no ID when he was apprehended, and the FBI found no information immediately in the system.

His fingerprints appear to have been altered, making it difficult to identify him that way, two law enforcement sources said.

Carl Hiaasen — the brother of Rob Hiaasen, one of the five people killed in yesterday’s Capital Gazette shooting — said his brother believed in “the craft of hometown journalism.”

Carl Hiaasen, an author and columnist for the “Miami Herald,” was asked to describe his brother. He quickly turned to Rob Hiaasen’s love of journalism.

“He believed in the mission and the craft of hometown journalism,” he added.

Rob Hiaasen, 59, had been an assistant editor and a Sunday columnist at the Capital Gazette since 2010.

Suspect Jarrod Ramos is charged with the five counts of first degree murder in yesterday’s newsroom shooting. Surveillance video from inside the newspaper office caught the alleged crime and was used to support the charging, according to a statement of probable cause.

The statement, provided by the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorneys Office, also includes other details previously confirmed by police:

The Capital Gazette’s opinion page is left blank today to honor the five employees killed in yesterday’s newsroom shooting.

Here’s what it looks like:

Shooting suspect Jarrod Warren Ramos has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder, according to court documents from District Court for Anne Arundel County. 

Each count is considered a felony.

A bail hearing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET in Annapolis.  

The Capital Gazette has just released the front page of its Friday newspaper after a gunman attacked the newsroom, killing five people and injuring two others.

It reads: “5 shot dead at The Capital.”

Police respond to a shooting on June 28, 2018 in Annapolis, Maryland.

Five people were killed and two were injured in a shooting inside the newsroom at the Capital Gazette office in Annapolis, Maryland. Here’s what we know now:

Former President Barack Obama, speaking at a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee in Los Angeles on Thursday night, lamented the fact that shootings like the one in Annapolis, Maryland “seems to happen every few weeks, few months.”

He added: “And I am hopeful that each time one of these tragedies strikes, we remind ourselves that this is preventable. It is not inevitable, that America is not the only nation on earth that has people who are troubled or violent, but we are unique in the weapons that those people can deploy, and it is costly.”

The victims in today’s shooting at the Capital Gazette have been identified.

These are their names, responsibilities at the paper, and photos.

Wendi Winters, Special Publications

Rebecca Smith, Sales Assistant

Robert Hiaasen, Assistant Editor, News

Gerald Fischman, Editorial Page Editor

John McNamara, Staff Writer

The names were released by the Anne Arundel County Police Department. The victims’ positions are according to the staff list on the Capital Gazette’s website. The photos are from the website and also the Baltimore Sun.

Thursday’s attack at the Capital Gazette newspaper is the deadliest day for journalism in America since 9/11.

News of the shooting spree caused a chill in newsrooms across the United States on Thursday. Law enforcement in several cities stepped up security around major news organizations as a precautionary measure.

Threats against members of the media have been on the rise in recent years. But murders of American journalists are very rare.

The last time multiple journalists were killed while on assignment in the U.S. was in 2015, when an ex-employee attacked two members of a WDBJ TV news crew during a live report in Virginia.

Reporter Alison Parker and photojournalist Adam Ward were killed.

On Thursday, Chris Hurst, who was engaged to Parker when she was killed, tweeted in response to the Annapolis shooting, “The threat to journalists is real and became deadly once more today in Annapolis. My condolences to everyone impacted at the @capgaznews newsroom.”

The Committee to Protect Journalists, which tracks threats to journalists around the world, said that “seven journalists have been killed in relation to their work in the United States” since the group began its tracking effort in 1992.

The group noted that “a music journalist was killed in Chicago” earlier this year, but “CPJ is still investigating the motive for that killing.”

“Newspapers like the Gazette do vital work, and our thoughts are with them amid this unconscionable tragedy,” the group’s executive director Joel Simon said in a statement. “Violence against journalists is unacceptable, and we welcome the thorough investigation into the motivations behind the shooting.”

Terry Smith, columnist for the Capital Gazette, told CNN his colleagues, who were in the building during the shooting, described it as “absolutely terrifying.”

They told him the gunman shot through the door, entered the room and reloaded, Smith said.

“Absolutely terrifying,” he said. “You can just imagine, in a completely open scene, this was on the first floor, the ground floor. There are glass windows all around the room. There is nothing except for a few half-walls at the editors’ offices on the left to impede a shooter.” 

He said his friends were among those who were injured and killed.

Two Capital Gazette staff writers said they need more than prayers after their fellow colleagues were killed Thursday by a gunman.

“I have heard that President Trump sent his prayers. I’m not trying to make this political, alright?” staff writer Selene San Felice said. “But we need more than prayers. I appreciate the prayers. I was praying the entire time I was under that desk. I want your prayers, but I want something else.”

At least five people were killed and several others were wounded during the shooting. The suspect, who law enforcement sources identified as Jarrod Warren Ramos, was arrested and taken into custody.

San Felice said editors were killed and she watched someone die in her newsroom. She and staff writer Phil Davis hid under their desks as the gunman reloaded and opened fire on the newsroom.

San Felice said she was texting her parents and telling them that she loved them, just like the victims of the the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting did.

Capital Gazette staff writer Phil Davis questioned society’s response to mass shootings.

“If we’re going to have a position in our society where all we offer each other is prayers, then where are we? Where are we as a society, where people die and that’s the end of that story,” he said.

He said he heard the gunman shoot through a glass door on the first floor. Davis, a crime and courts reporter, said he wondered if they were all going to die when he heard the gunman reload. He said The Capital’s employees were just doing their jobs and had no motive to hate the gunman.

“It makes you feel powerless. It makes you feel helpless. It removes all control from every facet of your life within only a few seconds once you understand what’s happening,” he said.

Capitol Gazette editor Rob Hiaasen was identified as one of those killed in today’s shooting, his brother Carl Hiaasen told CNN.

Carl Hiaasen said he was informed by law enforcement of his brother’s death.

“Rob was a really great guy,” he said.

Hiassen previously worked for The Baltimore Sun, The Palm Beach Post and was a news anchor and reporter for various news-talk radio stations, according to his biography on the newspaper’s website.

He was hired as The Capital’s assistant editor in 2010. 

The Committee to Protect Journalists spends much of its time advocating for endangered journalists in countries like Afghanistan, China, and Turkey. But today the group is speaking out about a crime much closer to home.

“Newspapers like the Gazette do vital work, and our thoughts are with them amid this unconscionable tragedy,” Joel Simon, the executive director of the group, said Thursday. “Violence against journalists is unacceptable, and we welcome the thorough investigation into the motivations behind the shooting.”

Right now, it is not yet confirmed if the five fatalities are all journalists. But if they are, this would be the deadliest day for members of the media in the United States since 9/11.

The suspect in the shooting was identified as Jarrod Warren Ramos, according to multiple law enforcement sources.

Police are outside an address connected to Ramos in Laurel, Maryland.

Ramos has a connection to the paper. He filed a defamation claim in 2012 against the paper but the case was dismissed.

Anne Arundel County Acting Chief William Krampf said threats were made over social media to the Capital Gazette.

“We know there were threats sent to the Gazette through social media,” he said.

Police are trying to confirm who sent the threats, Krampf said. Some of the threats were made today, he said.

The threats indicated violence, Krampf said. He said the department does not have any knowledge that one person at the paper was being targeted.

A shooting this afternoon that left five dead was a targeted attack on the Capital Gazette, said Anne Arundel County Acting Chief William Krampf.

The suspect, a white male in his late 30s, entered the building at 888 Bestgate Road, with a shotgun and looked for potential victims as he walked through the lower level, he said.

Krampf said the suspect’s intent was to cause harm.

A newspaper stand selling the Capital Gazette is pictured in Annapolis, Maryland, on June 28, 2018.

Executives from the Capital Gazette’s parent company are on the way to Annapolis, according to an internal memo from Tronc CEO Justin Dearborn.

In the memo, obtained by CNN, Dearborn said that “out of abundant precaution, we are increasing security presence at the company.”

He also reminded employees that counseling and support services are available. The company’s papers in Maryland will have counselors on site in the coming days.

Dearborn also said “we are fully cooperating with the authorities.”

Capital Gazette Communications is a unit of The Baltimore Sun Media Group, which in turn is owned by Tronc.

House Speaker Paul Ryan took to Twitter tonight to offer prayers to journalists at the Capital Gazette.

He tweeted:

Yes, the Capital Gazette will be publishing a newspaper tomorrow.

Multiple newsroom staffers, plus reporters from its parent company, The Baltimore Sun, are working on stories for Friday’s edition.

Joshua McKerrow of the Sun tweeted that he is working with Cook and another journalist, Pat Ferguson, on a coverage plan. “Thanks to our @baltimoresun colleagues who are here too,” McKerrow wrote. “There will be a Capital Friday.”

There has been an outpouring from journalists – both from rival Maryland newsrooms and from others across the country – offering to help however they can.

Police are executing a search of an address associated with the suspect, law enforcement officials tell CNN. 

They believe the suspect had a some interaction with an executive at the newspaper previously, one of the sources said. The source cautioned that this is preliminary information, and the investigation is just beginning. 

The suspect is described as being in his 30s.

Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley revealed that the suspected incendiary device was a bag containing multiple gas cans in an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett on “Out Front.”

Buckley called today’s shooting devastating. He said police were at the scene of the shooting within 60 seconds.

“If they didn’t get there as fast as they did, I think there could have been a lot more devastation,” he said.

First lady Melania Trump, returning from Arizona, has tweeted about the shooting in Annapolis, Maryland, saying it was “tragic” and “evil.”

Some background: Trump was in Arizona to “learn and educate herself” about issues at the border.

She met with US Marshals, border patrol agents and ICE agents. The first lady also visited small children and babies at a facility.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders denounced the shooting in Annapolis, Maryland, tonight, saying an attack on “journalists doing their job is an attack on every American.”

She tweeted:

The suspect’s fingerprints appear to have been altered, making it difficult to identify him that way, two law enforcement sources said.

The suspect was identified using facial recognition software, according to one law enforcement source.

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan speaks during a press conference following a shooting in Annapolis, Maryland, June 28, 2018.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan just released a statement about today’s shooting at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland.

“We are terribly saddened by the loss of five members of our community in today’s heinous shooting,” Hogan said.

He thanked first responders who arrived at the scene within moments of the shooting.

Hogan also spoke about the newspaper and the journalists who work there.

“The Capital Gazette is my hometown paper, and I have the greatest respect for the fine journalists, and all the men and women, who work there,” he said. “They serve each day to shine light on the world around us so that we might see with more clarity and greater understanding.”

Police respond to a shooting on June 28, 2018 in Annapolis, Maryland.

An employee on lockdown in a nearby building during a shooting at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland, described the frantic moments that unfolded at the scene.

Daria McMiller, who works as an administrative assistant in a building next to the Capital Gazette building, said responding officers “were hustling.” 

McMiller said she and her coworkers didn’t hear any shots, but they did hear police yelling. They saw police, FBI, state troopers and SWAT respond to the scene. She said they weren’t getting any information, but were able to call their loved ones as they waited.

McMiller, a US Marine who is no longer active duty, said her first thoughts were “just to keep my coworkers safe, keep everybody inside and quiet.

“I didn’t even think about how stressful this was until we were all sitting around,” she said.

Police respond to a shooting in Annapolis, Maryland, June 28, 2018.

Right now we don’t know if this newsroom was targeted or not, but we know that four of the five people who died were pronounced dead in the newspaper office. The fifth person died at the hospital.

Threats against journalists have been on the rise in recent years. Press freedom groups have also reported an uptick in physical assaults on journalists, particularly at campaign events and other political venues.

But, thankfully, murders of journalists are very rare. That’s one of the reasons why this day is so shocking. In some ways, it harkens back to the WDBJ shooting in Virginia in 2015, when two members of a TV news crew were attacked and killed by an ex-employee while on live TV.

In the wake of that attack, and the general rise in threats, many newsrooms have stepped up emergency drills and taken other measures to increase security. But newsrooms are inherently open and journalists strive to be accessible. Some sick person exploited that openness today.

Two people injured in the shooting at the Capital Gazette were transported with minor injuries to Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, Maryland, hospital spokesperson Loren Farquahr said.

The victims did not suffer gunshot wounds, and one was released from the hospital, Farquahr said. The other patient is expected to be released this evening.

A third person from the Capital Gazette shooting was transported to the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland, hospital spokesperson Lisa Clough said. There is no further information on the victim’s condition or injuries.

Police found the suspect in today’s shooting hiding under a desk in the building, said Steve Schuh, Anne Arundel county executive.

The suspect’s weapon was on the ground, and “not in his immediate proximity,” he said.

He told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that authorities have a name on the gunman but are not able to confirm it. 

Schuh said he doesn’t know if the newspaper was the target of today’s shooting.

When law enforcement officials entered the building, they found a package or carrying device, which contained a flammable liquid, on the ground, he said.

Schuh said the shooting doesn’t appear to be well-planned.

“It looks like it was amateur hour. But even amateurs can cause a lot of damage in the absence of excellence response by law enforcement. We fortunately had that in this instance,” he said.

Rep. Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House and longtime congressman from Maryland, said he is “heartbroken” following today’s shooting.

Read the full statement:

Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who founded the gun violence prevention organization Giffords after she was badly wounded in a 2011 mass shooting outside an Arizona grocery store, just released a statement reacting to the newspaper shooting.

She added, “This is not normal. Since the year began, there’ve been 179 days and already 154 mass shootings. Every day, more than 90 people are killed by a gun, from classrooms to newsrooms and neighborhoods across the country. We are facing a problem and we have to do something about it.”

Police have one person, who is believed to be the suspected shooter, in custody. Officials have not identified him, but said he is an adult male.

Speaking at a news conference, officials also said the weapon used in today’s shooting was a long gun. They did not provide any further details.

Journalism organizations like the Society of Professional Journalists, or SPJ, are expressing heartbreak about today’s killings.

“SPJ is deeply saddened by the reports from Annapolis, Maryland,” SPJ national president Rebecca Baker said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to the victims and their family, friends and colleagues. We are ready to help in any way we can.”

Police recovered what they thought may have been an explosive device from inside the building of today’s shooting in Annapolis, Maryland, Anne Arundel County Acting chief William Krampf told reporters.

“We have members of the bomb squad on scene,” he said. “We don’t anticipate having anymore explosive devices.”

More than 170 people were in the building during the shooting. They were evacuated and taken to a reunification area, Krampf said.

Police in New York and Los Angeles are increasing patrols at news outlets in those cities in the wake of a shooting at the Capital Gazette newspaper offices in Maryland.

“The NYPD has deployed counterterrorism teams to media organizations in and around New York City,” Deputy Commissioner for Counterterrorism and Intelligence John Miller told CNN in a statement.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Los Angeles Police were also increasing patrols as a precaution and for reassurance. 

Police have not assigned any motive to the shooting at the Maryland publisher offices and it’s not clear whether the attack was specifically targeted at the newspaper. But most major news organizations have New York offices, often in big, branded buildings. Jeff Jarvis, a journalism professor at the City University of New York, tweeted a photo of several NYPD officers outside of the New York Times. 

Multiple people have been shot inside the newsroom at the Capital Gazette newspaper office in Annapolis, Maryland. Here’s what we know now:

Jimmy DeButts, an editor at the Capital Gazette, just tweeted that he was “devastated & heartbroken,” and explained why it is he and his colleagues do the jobs they do.

“Devastated & heartbroken. Numb. Please stop asking for information/interviews. I’m in no position to speak, just know @capgaznews reporters & editors give all they have every day. There are no 40 hour weeks, no big paydays - just a passion for telling stories from our community,” he said.

“We keep doing more with less. We find ways to cover high school sports, breaking news, tax hikes, school budgets & local entertainment,” he wrote. “We are there in times of tragedy. We do our best to share the stories of people, those who make our community better. Please understand, we do all this to serve our community.”

“We try to expose corruption. We fight to get access to public records & bring to light the inner workings of government despite major hurdles put in our way.”

He added, “The reporters & editors put their all into finding the truth. That is our mission. Will always be.”

This the home page of the Capital Gazette right now:

The story is written by a Baltimore Sun reporter, which owns the newspaper, using reporting from its staff of journalists.

The Capital is one of America’s oldest newspapers, beginning life as the Evening Capital in 1884.

It has an interesting history. The company that publishes it started in 1727 with the Maryland Gazette. In 1767, Anne Catharine Green became the first female newspaper publisher in the country and the Maryland Gazette fought the stamp tax that started the American Revolution.

For many decades, there were two papers that served the region – The Maryland Gazette, a weekly, and the Evening Capital, a daily.

In 1981, The Evening Capital became the Capital. And in 1994, the company that owned it launched one of the first newspaper websites in the US with CapitalOnline.com.

Today, The Capital serves Annapolis, Anne Arundel County and Kent Island. It has a daily readership of about 67,000 and a Sunday readership of 83,000, according to the Baltimore Sun Group, which owns it.

President Trump, who was briefed on the shooting earlier today, just tweeted about the Capital Gazette shooting. Trump said his “thoughts and prayers” were with the victims, and he thanked first responders.

A law enforcement source says the suspect in custody initially refused to cooperate.

The suspect had no identification when he was arrested and FBI found no information immediately in the system.

At least five people were killed in the Capital Gazette shooting, Acting Police Chief of Anne Arundel County Bill Krampf said in a press conference. 

“There are five fatalities that is we know of,” he said, adding that there were several other people who were “gravely injured.” 

Krampf promised more information in the next briefing. Another press conference is expected at 5 p.m.

These papers work hard for their communities. Capital Gazette Communications publishes multiple papers, including the Capital and the Maryland Gazette.

The publications have a rich history – and they’ve continued to cover Annapolis, the Maryland state house, and state politics despite rounds of cutbacks over the years.

The staff does a lot with a little, in terms of resources. There are a couple dozen editors and reporters, some of whom work at the office every day. Others are out in the community at events and meetings. 

The address where the shooting occurred was well known to readers and members of the public. In this case, shots rang out in the early afternoon, obviously a busy time of a day in and around a newsroom.

Steve Schuh, Anne Arundel county executive, told reporters that several people were killed and others were injured as a result of a shooting today at the Capital Gazette building in Annapolis, Maryland.

“We have had a terrible shooting incident here this afternoon,” he said. 

He added: “Those fatalities are so sad and I don’t know what to say except our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families and we take comfort knowing they’re in God’s embrace.”

Phil Davis, a crime and courts reporter at the Capital Gazette newspaper, just tweeted that he is safe and out the newspaper building.

Earlier today, Davis tweeted details about a shooting and said “there is nothing more terrifying than hearing multiple people get shot while you’re under your desk and then hear the gunman reload.”

“Can’t say much more and don’t want to declare anyone dead, but it’s bad,” he said.

A law enforcement source says a shotgun was used in the Annapolis shooting.

Multiple people were shot inside the newsroom at the Capital Gazette newspaper office in Annapolis, Maryland. Two law enforcement sources tell CNN there are multiple wounded and multiple fatalities.

Lt. Ryan Frashure, spokesperson of Anne Arundel County Police Department, told reporters that law enforcement officers are still in evacuating the building, following a shooting inside a newspaper building.

He confirmed that there were injuries, but did not expect it to be a mass casualty situation. Frashure said additional information about victims and the suspect will be provided once the building is completely secure.

Maryland Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen tweeted about the shooting at the Capital Gazette building in Annapolis.

Cardin, a Democrat, urged people to stay away from the area, and thanked first responders.

Van Hollen, also a Democrat, urged for people to “unite to end the violence.”

One patient was taken to the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland, following the Annapolis shooting, according to Lisa Clough, the director of media relations for the hospital. 

No information about patient, including his or her condition, is available at this time.

Clough says she does not know if they are expecting any additional patients.

Two law enforcement officials tell CNN that there are multiple injuries as well as fatalities. 

A source tells CNN one person, believed to be the shooter, is in custody.

A crime and courts reporter at the Capital Gazette newspaper has tweeted about the shooting, and he said that a gunman “shot through the glass door to the office and opened fire on multiple employees.”

“Can’t say much more and don’t want to declare anyone dead, but it’s bad,” he said.

He added: “There is nothing more terrifying than hearing multiple people get shot while you’re under your desk and then hear the gunman reload.”

A law enforcement source told CNN the shooting happened in the newsroom. 

Earlier, an officer on the scene would not confirm if the newspaper office building was involved, however, the address police gave matches the one listed on the Capital Gazette’s website.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan in 2016

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan just tweeted about a shooting at the Capital Gazette building in Annapolis. He warned people to stay away from the scene of the shooting.

Hogan said that he was “absolutely devastated to learn of this tragedy in Annapolis.”

A law enforcement official tells CNN that one person is in custody, believed to be a shooter at the Gazette building. The source said there are multiple wounded. 

Anne Arundel police tweeted that they are continuing to search the building.

President Trump has been briefed on the shooting in Annapolis, deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters told reporters. 

The President was in Wisconsin today for meetings with supporters and the groundbreaking ceremony of a new Foxconn plant.

Lt. Ryan Frashure, a spokesperson for the Anne Arundel County Police Department, told CNN affiliate WJLA that officers could not confirm whether any arrests have been made in the shooting.

“We’re doing the best we can,” he said. “We’re doing everything we can to get people out safe and we’re trying to minimize the casualties.”

Frashure said the shooting occurred at 888 Bestgate Road. Officers, he said, were evacuating the building to “make sure people are out safe.”

“And again, there’s a lot of factors that got into this. so there’s a lot of secondary things we have to look into also,” Frashure said. “Whether there’s any type – whether there is other shooters, there might be more than one, bombs, anything like that, so there’s a variety of things we have to go through.”

He added that officers were focused on getting people out of the building, so they can be reunited with family. 

The Anne Arundel Police Department confirmed on Twitter that officers are responding to an active shooter in Annapolis.

An officer on the scene would not confirm if the newspaper office building is involved, however the address matches the one listed on the Capital Gazette’s website.

The Baltimore Sun is reporting that “multiple people had been shot” at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland.

Police were also at The Baltimore Sun newsroom in Baltimore, and a Twitter account for the Anne Arundel Police Department confirmed there was an “active shooting” there.