Five people fatally shot at Capital Gazette

WASHINGTON — Five people were fatally shot and others were wounded Thursday afternoon in the newsroom of the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Md., and a suspect is in custody, authorities said.

The spokesperson for the Anne Arundel County Police Department said the suspect is a white adult male. He said no shots were exchanged between police and the suspect.

Anne Arundel County Executive Steve Schuh told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that the suspect was apprehended.

One victim was taken to University of Maryland Medical Center’s Shock Trauma, 28 miles away in Baltimore, but did not survive.

June 28, 2018, Annapolis Maryland – Police and Fire officials work the scene of an active shooter incident in front of 888 Bestgate Road. This building is home to the Capital Gazette newspaper, a Baltimore Sun affiliate. (Mike Jordan)

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley, and  Anne Arundel County Executive Steve Schuh all praised first responders for their quick response. At a news conference from the scene around 4:30 p.m. EDT, Schuh said police arrived on the scene within 60 seconds.

Phil Davis, Gazette’s courts and crime reporter, tweeted at 12:46 p.m. EDT that earlier he had hidden under his desk when he heard the shooter reload.

Davis told the Baltimore Sun, which owns the Capital Gazette, that a lone male suspect shot through a glass door to gain access.

The spokesperson for the Anne Arundel County Police Department, which is heading the investigation, had said around 4 p.m. EDT that “we do have injuries.” Lt. Ryan Frashure, who was at the scene, had told reporters that police didn’t expect “major casualties.”

He said the building has been evacuated but is still being secured to ascertain that a threat no longer exists.

Frashure said people being evacuated can be reunited with their families at the Lord & Taylor department store at the nearby Annapolis Mall. He said the media would be updated soon.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Bureau and Firearms tweeted at about 3:56 p.m. EDT that it was responding to the scene. About 10 agencies were assisting local police.

A few minutes after the news conference at the scene, President Donald Trump tweeted about the shooting.


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

This article is republished with permission from Talk Media News.