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Accused Capital Gazette shooter indicted on 23 counts of murder, assault

WASHINGTON — Jarrod Ramos was indicted Friday on 23 counts in the deadly shooting at the Annapolis-based Capital Gazette which left five dead and two others injured June 28, prosecutors announced on Friday.

An Anne Arundel County grand jury indicted 38-year-old Ramos on five counts of first-degree murder, in addition to other charges including assault and weapons offenses, as well as one count of attempted first-degree murder.

The case will be prosecuted by State’s Attorney Wes Adams, and Assistant State’s Attorneys Jason Knight and Aaron L. Meyers, prosecutors said in a news release.

Mourners carry an urn containing the remains of John McNamara, one of the journalists killed in the shooting at the Capital Gazette newspaper offices, at the end of a memorial service, Tuesday, July 10, 2018, in College Park, Md. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Mourners carry an urn containing the remains of John McNamara, one of the journalists killed in the shooting at the Capital Gazette newspaper offices, at the end of a memorial service, Tuesday, July 10, 2018, in College Park, Md. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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Mourners carry an urn containing the remains of John McNamara, one of the journalists killed in the shooting at the Capital Gazette newspaper offices, at the end of a memorial service, Tuesday, July 10, 2018, in College Park, Md. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Employees gather in the newsroom of the New York headquarters of The Associated Press, Thursday, July 5, 2018, for a moment of silence for the five employees of the Capital Gazette, a Maryland newspaper, who were killed a week ago in one of the deadliest attacks on journalists in U.S. history. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
People pause for a moment of silence next to a memorial outside near the Capital Gazette building Thursday, July 5, 2018, in Annapolis, Md., for the five Capital Gazette employees who were killed a week ago in one of the deadliest attacks on journalists in U.S. history. (AP Photo/Brian Witte)
ADDS THE NAME OF THE WOMAN, LEFT - Carl Hiaasen, center, brother of Rob Hiaasen, one of the journalists killed in the shooting at The Capital Gazette newspaper offices, is consoled by his sisters Barb, left, and Judy during a memorial service, Monday, July 2, 2018, in Owings Mills, Md. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Colleen Joseph prays over the crosses at a makeshift memorial at the scene outside the office building housing The Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Md., on Sunday, July 1, 2018. Jarrod Ramos is charged with murder after police say he opened fire Thursday at the newspaper. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Mourners stand in silence during a vigil in response to a shooting at the Capital Gazette newsroom, Friday, June 29, 2018, in Annapolis, Md. Prosecutors say 38-year-old Jarrod W. Ramos opened fire Thursday in the newsroom. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Tanner Piekarski, left, and Kylie Myles hold signs during a vigil in response to a shooting at The Capital Gazette newspaper office, Friday, June 29, 2018, in Annapolis, Md. Prosecutors say Jarrod W. Ramos opened fire Thursday in the Capital Gazette newsroom. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

In the early afternoon on June 28, Ramos blasted his way into The Gazette’s main offices with a legally purchased 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, barricading exits in an effort to trap those within.

Five Gazette employees lost their lives: community reporter Wendi Winters, 65; assistant editor Robert Hiaasen, 59; editorial writer Gerald Fischman, 61; sports writer John McNamara, 56; and sales assistant Rebecca Ann Smith, 34.

Ramos, a Laurel resident, held a long-standing grudge against the Maryland paper apparently stemming from the its 2011 coverage of a criminal harassment case in which he was implicated. He attempted to take his grievances to court in a defamation case the following year, which was ultimately dismissed.

Over the six years that followed, Ramos took to social media for profanity-laced threats against the Gazette and its staff, at one point tweeting his wish to see the paper shut down and its journalists “cease breathing.”

In the aftermath of the shooting, thousands donated in honor of the five killed.

Through two newly established funds, the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County has raised over $685,000 in memory of the victims and in support of their families — wholly covering the costs for the victims’ funerals.

Alejandro Alvarez

Alejandro Alvarez joined WTOP as a digital journalist and editor in June 2018. He is a reporter and photographer focusing on politics, political activism and international affairs.

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