Defiant staff at Capital Gazette publishes a Friday paper hours after 'targeted attack' by gunman kills 5 employees

pulse

June 29, 2018 1:17 PM

Journalists at the Capital Gazette immediately began reporting on the details of their own crisis. Some tweeted for help and to detail the unfolding chaos at the paper. Some tweeted frightening details of witnessing the carnage.

The Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland, put out a paper on Friday despite losing five of its staff members and having several others injured in a "targeted attack" by a gunman.
The Capital's front page remembered the victims of the shooting and offered a composed recollection of the events while memorializing the slain employees.
The Capital's staff reported on the shooting as it unfolded and seemed determined as ever to put out the paper.
Journalists are targeted by violence all over the world, with dozens already killed in 2018.

The Capital Gazette newspaper chain in Annapolis, Maryland, put out a paper on Friday, just as it would any other day, despite losing five of its staff members and having several others injured in a "targeted attack" by a gunman.

Employees at the Capital Gazette headquarters immediately began reporting on the details of their own crisis. Some employees tweeted for help and to detail the unfolding chaos. Some tweeted frightening details of witnessing the carnage.

But eventually the shooting ended, and authorities detained a suspect. Hours after the chaos unfolded, the Capital Gazette reporter Chase Cook announced there would be no slowing down the news organization: "I can tell you this: We are putting out a damn paper tomorrow," he tweeted.

On Friday, the Gazette's front page remembered the victims of the shooting and offered a composed recollection of the events while memorializing the slain staff members.

Targeted attack against journalists

"This was a targeted attack on the Capital Gazette," Anne Arundel County's acting police chief, William Krampf, told reporters during a news conference hours after the shooting.

The Capital identified the suspect as Jarrod Ramos, who is believed to be 38 years old and a resident of the county.

A man with the same name brought a defamation lawsuit against The Capital in 2012. That case was dismissed, and the judge's decision was upheld on appeal.

"We had a long history with this guy," ABC's Brad Mielke quoted a former publisher of the Capital Gazette as saying. "He was prone to making threats against me ... one of which was I 'would be better off dead.'"

Krampf on Thursday said threats to the newspaper "were sent over social media as recently as today."

Journalists often receive threats from the public in the line of work. Around the world, at least 29 journalists have been killed this year.

pulse