5 dead, several injured in shooting at Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis

UPDATE: The suspect has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder Friday, court documents showed. For more on the latest from the shooting at the Capital Gazette newspaper, click here.

At least five people have died in a shooting Thursday at the Capital Gazette newspaper building in Annapolis, Maryland. The suspect in custody is a white male who used a “long gun,” police said.

Police have yet to identify a motive for the shooting.

Officials said the shooting took place at a building that houses several different offices, including the Capital Gazette newspaper, which is owned by The Baltimore Sun. Hours earlier, authorities reported an “active shooter” at 888 Bestgate Road, where the Capital Gazette newsroom is located.

It’s not immediately clear how many people have been injured in the shooting; police said several had been “gravely injured.”

Law enforcement officials survey the scene after a gunman fired through a glass door at the Capital Gazette newspaper and sprayed the newsroom with gunfire, killing at least five people and injuring several others, in Annapolis, Maryland. Photo by Joshua Roberts/Reuters

Gazette reporter Phil Davis told the Sun that multiple people had been shot. In a series of tweets, Davis said a gunman shot through a glass door and opened fire on multiple people.

“There is nothing more terrifying than hearing multiple people get shot while you’re under your desk and then hear the gunman reload,” he tweeted.

There is nothing more terrifying than hearing multiple people get shot while you're under your desk and then hear the gunman reload

— Phil Davis (@PhilDavis_CG) June 28, 2018

In another interview on the Capital Gazette’s website, Davis said the shooting in the newsroom “was like a war zone.”

“I’m a police reporter. I write about this stuff — not necessarily to this extent, but shootings and death — all the time,” he said. “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,” he said.

The Anne Arundel County Police did not immediately respond to requests from the PBS NewsHour for additional information. On its official Twitter account, Anne Arundel County Police said the building was evacuated while officers continues to search it. Aerials and TV footage showed people filing outside the building with their hands up.

#update confirming active shooter at 888 Bestgate Road in Annapolis. Building evacuated. Officers continuing to search building. Relocation point is inside Lord and Taylor in the mall.

— Anne Arundel Police (@AACOPD) June 28, 2018

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said on Twitter that it was responding to the shooting. As a precaution, Baltimore police arrived at the Sun newsroom for a sweep, reporter Kevin Rector said on Twitter.

BPD at @baltimoresun for precautionary sweep in light of Capital-Gazette incident pic.twitter.com/ZduDQAcoDS

— Justin Fenton (@justin_fenton) June 28, 2018

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said on Twitter that he was “absolutely devastated” to hear about the shooting, adding that he was in contact with the county executive, and that Maryland State Police were also on the scene assisting in the investigation.

Absolutely devastated to learn of this tragedy in Annapolis. I am in contact with County Executive Steve Schuh, and @MDSP is on the scene assisting @AACOPD. Please, heed all warnings and stay away from the area. Praying for those at the scene and for our community. https://t.co/bI6PdUjHfh

— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) June 28, 2018

“Please, heed all warnings and stay away from the area. Praying for those at the scene and for our community,” he said.

In a Facebook statement, the county executive said the community was “shaken” by the shooting today. “The Capital and the Maryland Gazette are institutions that have served us well for so many years, and I have had the pleasure of working alongside the editors, reporters and photographers,” Shuh said. “Our law enforcement professionals responded swiftly and I thank them for protecting the public by eliminating the threat and taking the suspect into custody. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families,” he wrote.

A New York Police Department spokesman confirmed to Jon Swaine of The Guardian that officers have been dispatched to headquarters of several major media organizations in New York, following the shooting in Maryland.

NYPD spokesman confirms that officers are being deployed to the headquarters of major media organizations in New York City, following the shooting in Maryland.

— Jon Swaine (@jonswaine) June 28, 2018

President Donald Trump, who was in Wisconsin earlier today, tweeted that he was briefed on the Maryland shooting. “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,” he wrote.

Prior to departing Wisconsin, I was briefed on the shooting at Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland. 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.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 28, 2018

PBS NewsHour will update this story as it develops. The NewsHour’s Dan Cooney contributed to this report.