Brother of best-selling author among those killed in US
had not shown “anything that was published about you is, in fact, false”. An appeals court later upheld the ruling.
Authorities named the victims as editor and community reporter Wendi Winters, 65, sales assistant Rebecca Smith, 34, assistant editor and columnist Robert Hiaasen, 59, writer Gerald Fischman, 61, and reporter John McNamara, 56.
Rob was the brother of novelist Carl Hiaasen, who said yesterday he was “devastated and heartsick”. He described his sibling as “one of the most gentle and funny people I’ve ever known”.
Journalists posted on social media as the gunman fired through the door of their office and shot at staff inside.
Crime reporter Phil Davis told how he and his colleagues hid under their desks, saying: “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.”
Police were said to have arrived “within 60 seconds” of hearing of the incident and found the suspect under a desk.
William Krampf, deputy chief of Anne Arundel County Police, added that the gunman “entered the building with a shotgun and looked for his victims as he walked through the lower level”.
President Donald Trump tweeted: “My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.
“Thank you to all of the first responders.”