Jarrod Ramos

Mass Murderer

Jarrod Ramos and the 2018 Capital Gazette Massacre

Background and Grievance Against the Newspaper

Jarrod Warren Ramos carried out a carefully planned mass shooting at the Capital Gazette newspaper office in Annapolis, Maryland, on June 28, 2018. Armed with a pump-action shotgun, Ramos entered the newsroom and murdered five employees during one of the deadliest attacks against journalists in United States history. Two other people were injured, while numerous employees survived by hiding beneath desks, sheltering between filing cabinets or escaping from the building. Ramos had developed a long-running grudge against the Capital Gazette after the newspaper published a July 31, 2011, column concerning his criminal harassment of a former high school classmate. The article described how Ramos contacted the woman online and subjected her to months of hostile and threatening messages. Ramos pleaded guilty to criminal harassment, received probation and was ordered to attend counseling. In 2012, Ramos filed a defamation lawsuit against Capital Gazette Communications, the columnist who wrote the article and the newspaper's former editor and publisher. The lawsuit was dismissed because Ramos could not demonstrate that the article contained false information. An appellate court upheld the dismissal in September 2015. Ramos continued attacking the newspaper, its employees and members of the Maryland judiciary through online messages and threatening correspondence.

Planning the Attack

By June 2018, Ramos had transformed his grievance into a plan for mass murder. He obtained a 12-gauge Mossberg 590A1 pump-action shotgun and prepared equipment intended to help him enter the newspaper office, obstruct escape routes and create confusion. Authorities recovered ammunition, smoke-producing devices and other materials associated with the attack. Ramos studied the building at 888 Bestgate Road in Annapolis and understood the layout of the newspaper's ground-floor office. Before opening fire, he placed a device against a rear exit so employees would have greater difficulty escaping. Investigators said his preparations demonstrated that the massacre was not spontaneous. He arrived intending to trap and kill people associated with the newspaper. On the day of the attack, Ramos also mailed threatening letters to people connected with his unsuccessful defamation case. In one letter, he declared that he was proceeding to the Capital Gazette office with the objective of killing the people inside. The letters provided additional evidence that the shooting was a deliberate act of revenge rather than an impulsive confrontation.

The June 28, 2018, Newsroom Attack

At approximately 2:30 p.m. on June 28, 2018, Ramos approached the glass entrance to the Capital Gazette newsroom. He fired through the glass doors and entered the office carrying his shotgun. Employees initially heard the glass break and then realized that gunfire was moving through the newsroom. Ramos advanced through the office and fired at employees as they attempted to flee or take cover. Survivors later described hiding beneath desks and hearing repeated shotgun blasts followed by the sound of the weapon being reloaded. The attack lasted only several minutes, but the enclosed newsroom and obstructed exit created a chaotic and terrifying environment. Reporter Wendi Winters confronted Ramos as he moved through the office. Witnesses said she charged toward him while carrying a trash can and recycling bin. Her actions distracted Ramos and gave other employees additional time to escape, hide or move away from his line of fire. Winters was fatally shot, but survivors later credited her intervention with saving lives. Photographer Paul Gillespie encountered Ramos near an exit and was fired upon while attempting to escape. Other employees, including Selene San Felice, Phil Davis, Rachael Pacella, Anthony Messenger and Janel Cooley, were endangered as Ramos moved through the office. Pacella suffered serious injuries while escaping, and San Felice was wounded by gunfire. Police officers reached the building within minutes of the first emergency calls. Officers entered the office and found Ramos hiding beneath a desk. He was taken into custody without being killed or seriously injured. Five Capital Gazette employees were dead, two people had been physically injured and many others had endured the attack at close range. ...

Confirmed Victims: (5)

Gerald Fischman 61 yr old Male

Capital Gazette shooting