Gunman kills five people at US newspaper office
FIVE people have been killed and several others “gravely injured” in a shooting at a US newspaper in Maryland, police have said.
Anne Arundel County Acting Police Chief William Krampf confirmed the deaths at a news conference.
Governor Larry Hogan has previously said that there were “several fatalities and several people in the hospital” following the shooting at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis.
Phil Davis, a journalist at the newspaper, tweeted that a gunman shot through the office’s glass door.
In his tweet he said: “There is nothing more terrifying than hearing multiple people get shot while you’re under your desk and then hear the gunman reload.”
Speaking to the Baltimore Sun, Davis said the scene was like a war zone.
“I’m a police reporter. I write about this stuff — not necessarily to this extent, but shootings and death — all the time,” he said.
“But as much as I’m going to try to articulate how traumatising it is to be hiding under your desk, you don’t know until you’re there and you feel helpless.”
It’s believed a shotgun was used in the attack.
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan earlier tweeted he was “absolutely devastated to learn of this tragedy”.
On TV reports, people could be seen leaving the building with their hands up, as police officers urged them to depart through a car park and officers converged on the building.
Lieutenant Ryan Frashure of Anne Arundel County Police said “we did have” an active shooter in the building, but added that it was now secure.
A spokeswoman for the city of Annapolis said a suspect was in custody.
Last night it was feared that the death toll would rise, as there were several gunshot victims who were being described as “gravely injured”.