WJLA-TV(ANNAPOLIS, Md.) — 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. There was no gunfire exchanged between the suspect — described as an adult male — and officers, officials said during an afternoon news briefing.
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.”
Davis described the experience as being “like a war zone.”
“I’m a police reporter. I write about this stuff,” Davis later told The Baltimore Sun, which owns the Gazette, after he escaped the building. “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.”
The Capital Gazette has tweeted a link to the Baltimore Sun’s story on the shooting.
People were seen streaming out of the office building with their hands up.
About 170 people were safely evacuated from the building and no one else there is a threat, officials said.
Authorities recovered “what we thought may have been an explosive device,” said Anne Arundel County Acting Police Chief William Kramph. “That’s been taken care of. We have members of the bomb squad on scene. We don’t anticipate having any more explosive devices.”
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-TV in Washington, D.C. “The door of The Capital Gazette had been blown to pieces.”
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 has also been briefed on the shooting, tweeting, “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.
This story is developing. Please check back for more updates.
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