LAST UPDATE | 28 Jun 2018
FIVE PEOPLE HAVE died and an estimated three have been injured after a shooting incident at Capital Gazette newspaper building in Annapolis, Maryland in the US, and police said a suspect was in custody.
Anne Arundel County Police Department spokesman Marc Limansky said officers were searching the building where the shooting was reported.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it was responding to reports of the shooting.
Police gave no immediate details on the gunman or the motive for the attack and said the suspect was being interrogated.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference, a police official said: “There are five fatalities that we know of, there are several other persons that are gravely injured.”
Acting chief officer William Krampf said: “The building is secure from a tactical standpoint, that means that right now we believe that there are no other shooters in the building, but it has not been cleared from an investigative standpoint.”
In a later press conference, an officer confirmed that they do not have an identification on the suspect yet, however, they said he is “a white male, adult male”. He said the gun that was used was described as a long gun.
He added that it was estimated that three people had been injured.
A reporter at The Capital Gazette tweeted that a single individual shot multiple people. Phil Davis, who covers business and politics for the newspaper, tweeted that the gunman shot through the glass door to the office and opened fire on multiple employees.
He added: “There is nothing more terrifying than hearing multiple people get shot while you’re under your desk and then hear the gunman reload.”
During the press conference, Krampf said: “Right now we can’t confirm exactly where the shooting occurred throughout that building. The Capital Gazette building is inside that building along with many other businesses and doctors offices.”
On TV reports, people could be seen leaving the building with their hands up, as police officers urged them to depart through a parking lot and officers converged on the building.
A petrol station employee near the shooting scene described a flood of police activity in the area as he sat tight inside his still-open workplace.
In a phone interview, Carlos Wallace, who works just down the street from the newspaper’s offices, estimated that “dozens of dozens” of law enforcement vehicles and ambulances had raced toward the scene with sirens blaring.
“The road is blocked off real good. It’s like dozens of dozens of emergency vehicles, police cars of all types, explosive vehicles, battering ram vehicles, all kinds of stuff,” Wallace said.
US president Donald Trump tweeted this evening and said that he has been brief on the shooting.
“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,” he said.
The newspaper is part of Capital Gazette Communications, which also publishes the Maryland Gazette and CapitalGazette.com. It is part of the Baltimore Sun Media Group.
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan issued a statement saying he was “absolutely devastated” at the tragedy.
With reporting by Hayley Halpin and AFP.
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