![Chart of the mass shootings every year. - [Mother Jones / Wikimedia Commons]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2018/6/30/660x290/b_502x220x82/chart-of-the-mass-shootings-every-year-image-via-wikimedia-commons_2043989.jpg "Chart of the mass shootings every year. - [Mother Jones / Wikimedia Commons]")
On June 28, a gunman opened fire at Maryland’s Capital Gazette. Five people were reported dead, with multiple injuries also reported. This was confirmed to be a targeted attack against the newspaper, according to an NBC report.
The gunman, named Jarrod Ramos, had a grudge against the newspaper, which was confirmed by police. Police confirmed five dead and two wounded after the shooting. The shooter has since been detained by Maryland police, according to a report by NPR. He has been charged with murder for his crime.
According to the police chief of Anne Arundel County, Bill Krampf, “This person was prepared to shoot people.
His intent was to cause harm.”
The shooter carried a shotgun and brought it into the building and was looking for his victims inside. The shotgun was loaded and ready to fire on the innocent people inside the building, prompting them to try to find safety.
Jarrod Ramos’s grudge
According to NBC, Jarrod Ramos sued the Capital Gazette back in 2012 for defamation. This was after a story was made about his plea to harassment in 2011.
He targeted the newspaper in retaliation to this story, as well as the journalists who made the story. This targeted attack killed innocent people and their families now mourn the deaths of the five people.
Eyewitness on the scene of the crime
Phil Davis, a writer for the Capital Gazette, posted on Twitter about the incident, writing about the horror of the incident while he was behind his desk the entire time, according to NBC.
“There is nothing more terrifying than hearing multiple people get shot while you're under your desk and then hear the gunman reload,” he said.
In an interview with the Baltimore Sun, Davis stated that it was “like a war zone in the newsroom in the offices of the newspaper.” It has been confirmed by Davis that people were hiding under desks during the shooting until the police arrived on the scene, according to a report from NBC.
Remembering the victim’s lives lost
Capital Gazette’s main parent newspaper had published obituaries on the victims overnight. One included Wendi Winters, a fellow reporter for the newspaper, who was 65 years old. She was also a community news reporter and a columnist for the paper. She was a proud Navy mom and worked as a Red Cross volunteer, as well as a church youth advisor and girl scout leader.
She was a strong woman who will be missed by her loved ones and her daughter, Winter Geimer.
Another victim was Rob Hiaasen, who was an assisting editor at the Capital Gazette. His wife, who turned 58 last Thursday (June 21), talked about him with the Baltimore Sun. She said, “He was a tall man, six-foot-five, but he was a giant not just in stature, but in character.”
Sportswriter John McNamara, who was 56 and worked for the Gazette, was also among the victims. While he worked as a sportswriter, he held many other positions for the Gazette. Jeff Barker, a reporter from the Baltimore Sun talked about him in a statement. He stated that Mac was a loyal friend with an infectious laugh, and he was a willing mentor for young journalists.
