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Police secure the scene of a shootout in the building housing The Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland, June 28, 2018.
Susan Walsh, PA
ANNAPOLIS, Md – An armed gunman opened fire on the capital's Gazette Thursday, killing five people in what the police call a "targeted attack" on the newspaper.
Police reporter Phil Davis, who hid under a desk at the height of the scrum, described "This person was ready to fire on people," said William Krampf, police chief with Acting Anne Arundel County, at a press conference. 19659004] CNN and NBC News identified the gunman as Jarrod Ramos.
Police described the gunman as an adult white man in 30, armed with a shotgun.The authorities were searching his home in Maryland on Thursday night.The officials think the gunman acted alone, but they had not established a motive for him.
Krampf acknowledged threats on social media that "indicated violence" as recent as today, but it was not clear to them
Anne Arundel's police spokeswoman, Lt. Ryan Frashure, said the police had arrived on the scene. within 60 seconds of the initial reports. under a desk when the police found him. According to some media, the suspect, who was not officially named, was identified by face recognition software and mutilated his fingers to conceal his identification.
Krampf said: the police had "no information about facial recognition or his fingerprints" and added that it was an ongoing investigation. Frashure denied having reported that the suspect had changed his fingerprints. "We talked to our detectives, they did not know where this information came from, it's not true."
Krampf added that the shooter had used smoke bombs when he entered the building. About 170 people were evacuated from the site. Two people suffered superficial wounds, police say
For more information: The Annapolis Gazette reads: What We Know Now
For know more: Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley was in a meeting when a receptionist arrived and informed him of the shooting, he told USA TODAY. More than 100 emergency responders rushed to the scene in what he called "a very collective effort".
"This thing for us is very personal because the journalists who work there, many of them are our friends, it is a thankless job and they do not earn much money. It's a publication that reports good local news from stories about local sports teams to cats stuck on a tree, "Buckley said." I hope this does not happen again. " is not an attack on journalism. "
Buckley also praised the professionalism of the police." They had to step on the bodies to find the shooter, "he added.
Davis of the Capital Gazette describes Horror in a series of tweets, saying that an armed man "fired through the glass door of the office and opened fire on several employees."
"There is nothing more terrifying than hearing several people gets shot while you're under your desk, then hear the shooter rech arger ", tweeted Davis
The Sun, who owns the newspaper, later interviewed Davis who described the scene
. I write about these things – not necessarily to that extent, but shootings and death – all the time, "Davis told the Sun." But as much as I'm going to try to articulate how much it's traumatic to hide under your desk, you do not know it until you're there and you feel helpless. "
The newspaper is in the middle of a busy stretch of Annapolis, where meet the Annapolis Plaza, the Westgate Annapolis shopping center and the Anne Arundel Medical Center.
Mary Feeley l 39 called it "9/11 sensation" when a person from a nearby store went into his wedding shop.
At two doors of the bride's shop, employees at Home Goods did not notice it but were caught by the fatal attack a few meters away.
"Crazy usually escapes from Annapolis," says Dorothy Harbold Klipper, an employee at Home Goods and a Capital Gazette subscriber since the 1960s.
Journalists from across the country rushed to show their support, launch fundraising campaigns and applaud Capital Gazette's journalists insisted on staying at work despite the tragedy.
Chase Cook, a Capital Gazette reporter who was not in the building when the shooting took place, tweeted "I can tell you this. come out a damn paper tomorrow. "
The shooting also sent newsrooms across the country in high alert for security reasons.New York police dispatched units to the city media to guard against potential copy attacks. New York Police Department spokesman Peter Donald said on Thursday that dozens of locations were receiving additional coverage.
Police in Chicago, Los Angeles and Nashville, Tennessee also took extra safety precautions.
Tom Marquardt, the former editor of Tthe Capital, posted on Facebook that the filming is "impossible to grasp."
"I can not even imagine with some degree of understanding what happened in my old paper today, "Marquardt said." The capital, like all newspapers, daily irritated people in pursuit of the news: mo At the time, people were protesting by writing letters to the editor, nowadays it is by the barrel of a rifle. "
Newspapers are inevitable. But the deadly consequences of Thursday's attack bring a new dimension to such risks.
"Of course, I had death threats and the newspaper had bomb threats," Marquardt said. "But we raised them as part of our job.We boasted of being an open, accessible newsroom, which happened today in n & # 39; any newsroom, for the background for the obits of people I've hired and worked alongside. "
Gov. Larry Hogan tweeted condolences on Twitter
"Absolutely devastated to learn from this tragedy in Annapolis," he said. "I'm in touch with Steve Schuh, county executive director, and @MDSP is on the scene to attend @AACOPD, please consider all the warnings and stay away from the area, praying for those who are on site and for our community. "
Donald Trump said in a tweet that his" thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. "
Buckley, who took office six months ago, told USA TODAY that he was the last thing he had to face. the mayor of a small town.
"I can not imagine what families are going through," he says. We feel for them. We cry for them. "
Contribution: Kevin Johnson, Trevor Hughes, Caroline Simon, Mike James and WUSA
Copyright 2017 USATODAY.com
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