Washington: A US gunman with a long-standing grudge against a Maryland newspaper Friday blasted his way through its newsroom with a shotgun and smoke grenades, killing at least five people and injuring two others in one of the deadliest attacks on the media in America. The shooter identified as Jarrod Ramos, 38, has been arrested and the police are questioning him.
The shooting at ‘The Capital Gazette’ newspaper in the US city of Annapolis is said to be one of the worst attacks on the media in decades in the US and has been described as a targeted attack by the police.
The five persons killed in the shootout are assistant editor Rob Hiaasen, editorial page editor Gerald Fischman, editor and reporter John McNamara, special publications editor Wendi Winters and sales assistant Rebecca Smith, police said.
According to ‘The Washington Post’, Ramos lost a defamation case he had brought against ‘The Capital Gazette’ over a 2011 column he contended defamed him.
“The column provided an account of Ramos’s guilty plea to criminal harassment of a woman over social media,” the report said.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Lindsay Walters said President Donald Trump has been briefed on the situation and the White House has been in touch with the FBI.
Asked about Trump’s criticism of the press corps, she said the president and his staff did not believe violence was acceptable in any situation, adding that we stand by that.
Earlier, Phil Davis, the Gazette’s crime reporter, had tweeted about the shooting.
Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said in mass shootings and daily tragedies, the epidemic of gun violence has stolen too many lives for far too long.
Asserting that reporters should not have to hide from gunfire while doing their jobs, former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, founder of the gun violence prevention organisation, said time and time again, those in the Congress had failed to show the courage needed to keep people safe.
Media watchdog, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said it was deeply disturbed to learn that a shooting at the Capital Gazette, had resulted in the death of five people.
In any case, this is a new tragedy for journalism, which is the victim of increasing violence globally, even in democracies, he said.
Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna demanded that the Congress act now on gun violence.
Meanwhile, as a precautionary measure, security was tightened outside media offices across the US.
Boston Police said that it had increased patrols near local media outlets.
Similar measures have been taken by the New York Police Department including posting police officers outside ‘The New York Times’ office.