At Least 5 People Killed in Shooting at Maryland Newspaper (UPDATED)

At least five people have been killed and several others injured following a shooting in the newsroom of the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, MD, police have confirmed.

A reporter for the paper confirmed the shooting to the Baltimore Sun’s Erin Cox.

The Capital Gazette is owned by the same company as the Sun.

Reporters also tweeted the shooting from the scene.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms confirmed that it had responded to the attack. So did the Anne Arundel County police.

At this time it is unclear how many people have been injured. Police are reportedly going through the building floor by floor, and are asking people in the area to shelter in place.

Update, 3:46 p.m.: Capital Gazette reporter Phil Davis has begun tweeting details from the attack, claiming it was carried out by a single gunman who shot through a glass door to the newsroom. Davis also said that some people died in the attack.

Update, 4:07 p.m.: Speaking with CNN, a spokesperson for the University of Maryland Medical Center confirmed the facility has received one victim from the attack.

Update, 4:15 p.m.: Speaking with the press, Anne Arundel Police Public Information Officer Lt. Ryan Frashure said law enforcement is still working to secure the scene. Outside the Capital Gazette building, police have staged a huge response, with dozens of vehicles on site.

Update, 4:24 p.m.: The White House has issued its first statement in response to yet another shooting in America. Unsurprisingly, it is an offer of “thoughts and prayers.”

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has also responded to the shooting, urging people to stay away from the Gazette building.

Update, 4:29 p.m.: The Associated Press reports that one suspect has been taken into custody.

Update, 4:37 p.m.: In an interview with the Baltimore Sun, Capital Gazette reporter Phil Davis described the scene as a “war zone,” explaining:

I’m a police reporter. I write about this stuff — not necessarily to this extent, but shootings and death — all the time. But as much as I’m going to try to articulate how traumatizing it is to be hiding under your desk, you don’t know until you’re there and you feel helpless.

Update, 4:40 p.m: Speaking at a press conference, law enforcement officials confirmed “several” fatalities from the attack, and said the suspected shooter has been detained and is being interviewed by detectives.

Update, 4:50 p.m.: Police have confirmed that at least five people have been killed.

Update, 5:08 p.m.: The New York Police Department has responded to the Annapolis shooting by deploying officers to a number of media outlets throughout New York City.

In response to an email from Splinter inquiring about the department’s criteria for which outlets would receive additional police protection, Deputy Commissioner for Counterterrorism and Intelligence John Miller described the move as “standard practice,” writing:

The NYPD is monitoring reports of an active shooter at the Capital Gazette media organization in Annapolis, Maryland. The NYPD has deployed counterterrorism teams to media organizations in and around New York City. These deployments are not based on specific threat information, but rather out of an abundance of caution until we learn more about the suspect and motives behind the Maryland shooting. It has become a standard practice to shift resources strategically during active shooter or terrorist events.

Update, 5:18 p.m.: Capital Gazette editor Jimmy DeButts has addressed the shooting, and praised the paper in a series of late afternoon tweets:

Update, 5:59 p.m.: During a late afternoon press conference, police confirmed the suspect in custody is a white male, who is believed to have used a “long gun” during the attack.

Update, 6:57 p.m.: A briefing is expected for 8 p.m. This is from Capital Gazette reporter Chase Cook:

Update, 8:27 p.m.: In a press conference, Anne Arundel County deputy police chief William Krampf said the shooting was carried out using a shotgun and a cannister of smoke grenades, by a Maryland resident in his late thirties. Krampf also said that threats were sent to the paper via social media “as early as today.”

“This was a targeted attack on the Capital Gazette,” Krampf said. “He entered the building with a shotgun and he looked for his victims as he walked through the lower level.”

“This person was prepared today to come in, he was prepared to shoot people,” Krampf said. “His intent was to cause harm.”

Krampf did not identify the shooter, and a spokesperson said he expected no further briefings tonight.

Update, 9:22 p.m.: The Baltimore Sun has identified the shooter as 38-year old Jarrod W. Ramos, who previously unsuccessfully sued the Capital Gazette for defamation over a 2011 article about Ramos harassing a former classmate for months via Facebook.

A Twitter account purported to be operated by Ramos (which is still up at the time of this update) is named after Eric Hartley, the reporter who wrote that story, and shows dozens of tweets at the paper, some of them threatening:

Another tweet at the paper shows Ramos criticizing the paper over its negative coverage of Donald Trump, with a reference to Trump’s own $500 million lawsuit against Univision (which is the parent company of Gizmodo Media Group).

You can read more about the defamation suit and Ramos’ tweets at Gizmodo.

Update, 10:28 p.m: The names of the five victims who were killed have been released. Four were in editorial, and one was a sales assistant.

Update, 12:08 a.m.: These were the five people killed in Thursday’s shooting.

Update, 12:15 a.m.: This is the cover of tomorrow’s Capital:

CORRECTION, 12:08 a.m: This article previously referenced a tweet by CNN’s Brian Stelter which said that four of the five killed were editors. Fischman, McNamara, and Hiaasen were editors, Winters was a reporter, and Smith was a sales assistant, according to their Baltimore Sun obituaries and the four editorial staffers’ author pages on the Capital Gazette website.