The latest on Capital Gazette shooting: President Trump offers support to journalists

Updates on 5 killed in a shooting at Maryland newspaper

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The day after five newspaper employees and journalists were gunned down at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland their accused killer appeared before a judge, facing five counts of first-degree murder.

Here is the latest on that first appearance and the investigation on the shootings targeting Maryland's Capital Gazette newspaper (all times local):

3:30 p.m.

The suspect in the shooting that left five people dead at a Maryland newspaper has been put on suicide watch.

A judge was told about the watch during a bond hearing Friday for 38-year-old Jarrod W. Ramos.

Judge Thomas Pryal also was given details about the suspect. The 5-foot-10 Ramos is single, with no children. He has lived in Maryland most of his life, including for the past 17 years in an apartment in Laurel, Maryland.

Pryal determined Ramos was still a danger and ordered him to remain in jail.

1 p.m.

President Donald Trump has offered a statement of support for journalists after a gunman fatally shot five people at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland.

He said Friday at the White House that "journalists, like all Americans, should be free from the fear of being violently attacked while doing their jobs."

Trump routinely calls the reporters who cover him "fake news" and "liars" and labels them "enemies of the people."

A gunman shot his way into the newsroom of the Capital Gazette on Thursday, leaving five people dead.

Authorities and court records show the suspect had a well-documented history of harassing the paper's journalists.

Trump said he is thinking of the survivors and the families of the "horrific, horrible" murders.
 

Noon

A prosecutor says the shooter who opened fire at a Maryland newspaper barricaded the exit door so employees couldn't escape.

Wes Adams said Friday that there were two entrances to the office. He says Ramos entered through the front door and "worked his way through the office."

Adams also says one victim who attempted to escape through the back door was shot.

A judge ordered suspect Jarrod W. Ramos to remain detained during a court hearing Friday.

Judge Thomas Pryal said found a likelihood that the 38-year-old Ramos is a danger. Ramos was represented by public defender William Davis.

Ramos appeared in an Annapolis courtroom via video feed. He appeared to watch attentively during the hearing but never spoke. He was dressed in blue detention clothing.

He is charged with five counts of first-degree murder in the killings inside Maryland's Capital Gazette office on Thursday.

Jarrod Ramos, 38, is accused of killing five people at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland, on June 28, 2018.

11:50 a.m.

A judge has ordered the suspect in a deadly shooting at a Maryland newspaper to remain detained.

Judge Thomas Pryal said Friday that he found a likelihood that 38-year-old Jarrod W. Ramos is a danger.

Ramos appeared in an Annapolis courtroom via video feed. He appeared to watch attentively during the hearing but never spoke. He was dressed in blue detention clothing.

He is charged with five counts of first-degree murder in the killings inside Maryland's Capital Gazette office on Thursday.
 

11:45 a.m.

Authorities say the Maryland newspaper targeted in a shooting attack that left five people dead didn't want to press charges in an earlier case.

Police Chief Timothy Altomare said at a news conference Friday that the Capital Gazette didn't press charges over social media threats the shooting suspect had made against the newspaper in 2013.

Authorities have charged Jarrod W. Ramos with five counts of first-degree murder in the killings inside Maryland's Capital Gazette office on Thursday.

Altomare said the shooter intended to "kill as many people as he could kill."

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11:30 a.m.

Authorities say the suspect in the deadly shooting at a Maryland newspaper used a pump-action shotgun in the attack at the Capital Gazette newspaper that left five people dead.

Police Chief Timothy Altomare also said at a news conference Friday that it is "absolutely untrue" that suspect Jarrod W. Ramos mutilated his fingertips.

Altomare also said that employees Rachel Pacella and Janet Cooley had been treated at a hospital and released after being injured during Thursday's attack.

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10 a.m.

The city of Annapolis is planning a vigil for the victims of a mass shooting at the Capital Gazette newspaper.

The city announced on social media Friday that the vigil would begin at 8 p.m. at a public square near the Capitol, followed by a march to a dock for a service by the water.

The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland announced that the city's houses of worship had planned a prayer vigil at 7 p.m. Friday at a mall across the street from the shooting site. All are welcome.

On Saturday, the 5:30 p.m. Eucharist at St. Anne's Episcopal Church in downtown will be offered for the victims.

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9:30 a.m.

A Maryland newspaper attacked by a gunman has kept its promise to put out the next day's paper, despite the shooting deaths of five people in its newsroom.

Hours after a gunman blasted his way inside The Capital Gazette on Thursday, the surviving staff tweeted out their defiance: "Tomorrow, this Capital page will return to its steady purpose of offering readers informed opinion about the world around them. But today, we are speechless."

Friday morning's edition featured in-depth coverage of the shooting and obituaries of the five people killed. Each victim's photo appeared below the masthead.

And below the main shooting story were the staples of a community newspaper: a glance at the day's weather and a teaser to a national story inside: "Trump, Putin: The two leaders will meet in Finland in July."

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 9 a.m.

Court documents say a gunman who fatally shot five people at a Maryland newspaper tried to hide under a desk after the attack until police arrived.

A statement of probable cause obtained Friday by The Associated Press says surveillance video captured Thursday's events at the Capital Gazette. It says Jarrod Ramos entered the newspaper's office around 2:30 p.m.

The statement says Ramos used a "long gun firearm" and shot out the business doors, then shot people he encountered inside, killing five.

The statement says Ramos then "attempted to conceal himself under a desk" until police arrived and located him.

Ramos was in custody Friday and scheduled for a bond hearing at 10:30 a.m.

A spokeswoman for the Office of the Public Defender said the Anne Arundel office would be representing Ramos. She declined comment.

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5:50 a.m.

Court records filed Friday show Jarrod W. Ramos has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder in the killings inside Maryland's Capital Gazette office.

The online records do not list an attorney for Ramos, who is scheduled for a bail hearing 10:30 a.m. Friday in Annapolis.

Authorities say Ramos opened fire inside the newspaper office Thursday, killing five and injuring two others. He had a long, acrimonious history with the newspaper, including a lawsuit and years of harassment of its journalists.

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12: 30 a.m.

Police say a man firing a shotgun killed four journalists and a staffer at Maryland's capital newspaper before officers quickly arrived and took him into custody.

Police say they are a questioning the suspect, a white man in his late 30s, following Thursday's attack on The Capital Gazette in Annapolis.

Acting Police Chief William Krampf of Anne Arundel County says it was a targeted attack in which the gunman "looked for his victims."

Journalists described how they scrambled under desks and sought to hide during a few minutes of terror. They recounted hearing the gunman's footsteps as he moved about the newsroom, firing his weapon.

The attack came amid months of verbal and online attacks on the "fake news media" from politicians and others from President Donald Trump on down.


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