The Capital Gazette shooting suspect used a pump-action shotgun he purchased legally, police say
- The suspected Capital Gazette shooter used a 12-gauge, pump-action shotgun to kill five people in a Maryland newsroom on Thursday, police said.
- The suspect appeared in court Friday morning and was ordered detained until trial. He faces five counts of first-degree murder.
- Authorities said they have searched the suspect's car and apartment and found evidence to indicate he had been planning the attack.
- The suspect has not been cooperating with investigators, police said.
The suspected gunman who killed five staff members at the Capital Gazette newsroom in Annapolis, Maryland, on Thursday used a pump-action shotgun in the attack, police said.
The suspect, 38-year-old Jarrod Ramos, faces five counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Gerald Fischman, Robert Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith, and Wendy Winters.
Ramos appeared in court Friday morning and was ordered held without bail until trial.
A prosecutor, Wes Adams, also said Friday that the suspect had barricaded the Capital Gazette newsroom's exit door to prevent employees from escaping, according to The Associated Press.
Adams alleged that Ramos entered through the newsroom's front door and "worked his way through the office," shooting the employees, including one victim who attempted to escape through the back door.
Tim Altomare, the Anne Arundel County police chief, told reporters at a news conference that Ramos hasn't been cooperating with authorities.
"We're not getting very much communication," he said.
Altomare said they had located and executed search warrants on Ramos' car and apartment and found "evidence showing the origination of planning things like that." Ramos' motive is still unclear, Altomare said.
Altomare confirmed news reports that the Capital Gazette newsgroup had been sued by Ramos in 2012 over an article published the previous year about Ramos' misdemeanor harassment charge, to which he pleaded guilty.
The 2011 Capital article described the testimony of a woman who said she endured a "yearlong nightmare" when Ramos repeatedly harassed and threatened her after he contacted her on Facebook.
Altomare also confirmed that police had investigated Ramos in 2012 for harassing Capital Gazette staff members, but that the newsgroup declined to pursue criminal charges.
"There was a fear that doing so would exacerbate an already flammable situation," he said.
Altomare added that he was unsure if a misdemeanor harassment charge would prohibit Ramos in Maryland from legally purchasing his weapon.
Asked by reporters whether Ramos had given any indication of how his encounter with officers after the shooting would end, Altomare said he didn't know. Charging documents show that Ramos was found by police hiding under one of the newsroom desks.
"Using statistics, generally active shooters are wanting to go out in a blaze of glory - I just can't get into his head," Altomare said.