Five people were killed on Thursday in a shooting at the building that houses the Capital Gazette, a daily newspaper published in Annapolis, a historic city an hour east of Washington, DC.
A reporter for the Capital Gazette, Phil Davis, tweeted that a “gunman shot through the glass door to the office and opened fire on multiple employees.”
“There is nothing more terrifying than hearing multiple people get shot while you’re under your desk and then hear the gunman reload,” Davis added.
Local law enforcement authorities confirmed five fatalities in the shooting with several others “gravely injured.” At least three people have been hospitalized, according to the latest update from police.
“We did recover what we thought may have been an explosive device. That has been taken care of,” Deputy Chief William Krampf added in a press conference.
Lieutenant Ryan Frashure described the suspect as a white adult male who used a type of a “long gun,” meaning a rifle or a shotgun.
The gunman was interrogated. He damaged his fingertips to prevent law enforcement from identifying him, according to CBS News. The outlet’s sources said 38-year-old Jarrod Ramos of Laurel, Maryland, was behind the shooting.
Krampf said the individual’s intent was “to cause harm.”
“This was a targeted attack on the Capital Gazette,” he said, noting that the gunman was “prepared to shoot people.”
The newspaper is located in a four-story office building in Annapolis, the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland.
The White House said President Donald J. Trump had been briefed about the situation.
“Absolutely devastated to learn of this tragedy in Annapolis,” Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said. “Please, heed all warnings and stay away from the area. Praying for those at the scene and for our community.”
Police officers have been deployed to the headquarters of major media organizations as a precaution in the aftermath of the shooting.