[UPDATE: June 28, 2018, 6:16 p.m. ET] CBS News reports 5 people have died in a shooting at a local newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland, with several others wounded. One suspect is now in custody.
President Donald Trump issued a statement on the shooting at the Capital Gazette newsroom in Annapolis, Maryland, where five people were killed Thursday.
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“Prior to departing Wisconsin, I was briefed on the shooting at Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families,” reads a tweet posted on the president’s Twitter page. “Thank you to all of the First Responders who are currently on the scene.”
Prior to departing Wisconsin, I was briefed on the shooting at Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. Thank you to all of the First Responders who are currently on the scene.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 28, 2018
“Absolutely devastated to learn of this tragedy in Annapolis,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan added on Twitter. “I am in contact with County Executive Steve Schuh, and [Maryland State Police] is on the scene assisting [Anne Arundel County Police Department]. Please, heed all warnings and stay away from the area. Praying for those at the scene and for our community.”
Absolutely devastated to learn of this tragedy in Annapolis. I am in contact with County Executive Steve Schuh, and @MDSP is on the scene assisting @AACOPD. Please, heed all warnings and stay away from the area. Praying for those at the scene and for our community. https://t.co/bI6PdUjHfh
— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) June 28, 2018
The shooting happened at around 2:40 p.m. ET at the newsroom of the Capital Gazette, a local newspaper owned by the Baltimore Sun. Sources told CBS News there were five other people injured, including one now being treated at the University of Maryland Medical Center. The Anne Arundel Medical Center is also treating two other people with minor injuries not from a gunshot.
The suspect is described as a white male in his 20s, law enforcement sources told CBS News. The suspect did not carry identification, and he is not telling police his name. Another law enforcement source said he was carrying fake grenades and is being interrogated.
Crime reporter Phil Davis described the scene as “like a war zone” in an interview with the Baltimore Sun.
“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,” Davis said.
Davis said the shooter suddenly stopped, while he and his colleagues were under their desks. Police quickly arrived and apprehended the shooter.
Police also went to the Baltimore Sun newsroom as a precaution, although there were no threats to the newspaper.
The New York Police Department also sent officers to media outlets in the city out of precaution, although there was no specific threat.
“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,” John Miller, IDeputy Commissioner for Counterterrorism and Intelligence at the NYPD, said in a statement.
Photo credit: Al Drago-Pool/Getty Images
