The suspected shooter in the massacre at an Annapolis, Maryland, newsroom was indicted Friday on 23 charges, including five counts of first-degree murder.
Maryland prosecutors alleged that Jarrod Ramos, 38, was the one who opened fire on the Capital Gazette newsroom June 28, killing five.
The indictment also charges that Ramos attempted to kill a sixth staffer, photographer Paul Gillespie, who stated he believes Ramos shot at him as he was attempting to flee the newsroom.
“When I ran, I didn’t look back, but I did hear him chase me,” Gillespie told the Baltimore Sun. “I did hear a gunshot. I did feel a breeze blow past my right side.”
Four journalists with the newspaper — Rob Hiaasen, Wendi Winters, Gerald Fischman, and John McNamara — were killed, as was one sales associate, Rebecca Smith.
Ramos had a long-standing grudge with the Capital Gazette, dating back to a 2011 column the paper ran that detailed a criminal harassment charge against him. Ramos unsuccessfully sued the paper and the columnist for defamation.
“I was seriously concerned he would threaten us with physical violence,” said Thomas Marquardt, the paper’s former publisher, according to the Sun. “I even told my wife, ‘We have to be concerned. This guy could really hurt us.’”
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