5 dead in shooting at Annapolis newspaper: Officials

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Five people are dead and several others are “gravely” injured after a shooting at the Capital Gazette, a daily local newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland, officials said.

One suspect was engaged by responding officers within about 1 minute and taken into custody, officials from Anne Arundel County Government said.

The suspected shooter, who was armed with a shotgun, is not cooperating with authorities, officials briefed on the investigation told ABC News.

Phil Davis, a crime and courts reporter with the Capital Gazette tweeted, “There is nothing more terrifying than hearing multiple people get shot while you’re under your desk and then hear the gunman reload.”

“I’m a police reporter. I write about this stuff,” Davis told The Baltimore Sun, which owns the Gazette. “But as much as I’m going to try to articulate how traumatizing it is to be hiding under your desk, you don’t know until you’re there and you feel helpless.”

Davis described the experience as being “like a war zone.”

A man who works across from The Capital Gazette offices said he heard “an incredibly loud bang.”

“I saw a guy holding a gun,” he told ABC affiliate WJLA in Washington, D.C. “The door of The Capital Gazette had been blown to pieces.”

The Capital Gazette has tweeted a link to the Sun’s story on the shooting.

People were seen streaming out of the office building with their hands up.

The building was evacuated and appears to be secure, officials said.

The U.S. Naval Academy tweeted, “The Capital Gazette is our local newspaper and is often the first to tell our story. We are grieving with their staff and loved ones after the tragic events that occurred today.”

“Absolutely devastated to learn of this tragedy in Annapolis,” Gov. Larry Hogan wrote on Twitter. “Please, heed all warnings and stay away from the area. Praying for those at the scene and for our community.”

President Trump, who was briefed on the shooting as the incident was unfolding, later tweeted, “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.”

Out of an abundance of caution, the New York Police Department is moving personnel to headquarters of major media outlets in New York, including ABC News.

“The NYPD has deployed counterterrorism teams to media organizations in and around New York City. These deployments are not based on specific threat information, but rather out of an abundance of caution until we learn more about the suspect and motives behind the Maryland shooting,” said John Miller, deputy commissioner for counterterrorism and intelligence, in a statement. “It has become a standard practice to shift resources strategically during active shooter or terrorist events.”

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Reporter describes scene of active shooter at Maryland newspaper as a 'war zone'

A reporter described the scene from inside the building of a Maryland newsroom where an active shooting opened fire on employees as a “war zone.” Phil Davis, a courts and crime reporter for the Capital Gazette, a daily Annapolis newspaper, wrote that a single gunman shot through the glass door […]