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Accused Capital Gazette shooter: 'I will not cooperate'


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The gunman accused of killing five people at a Maryland newspaper office stood before a court and told the judge "I will not cooperate."

Jarrod W. Ramos, 38, was charged with five counts of murder in one of the deadliest attacks on journalists in US history.

Ramos' long-held grudge against the Capital Gazette included a string of angry online messages and a failed defamation lawsuit over a column about him pleading guilty to harassing a woman.

Anne Arundel County Police Chief Timothy Altomare said: "The fellow was there to kill as many people as he could."

Police looked into online threats he made in 2013, but the paper declined to press charges for fear of inflaming the situation, Altomare said.

"There's clearly a history there," the police chief said.

Ramos was denied bail on Friday after a brief court hearing in which he appeared by video, watching attentively but not speaking. Authorities said he was "unco-operative" with interrogators.

Those killed by Ramos included Rob Hiaasen, 59, the paper's assistant managing editor and brother of novelist Carl Hiaasen. Also killed were editorial page editor Gerald Fischman, special projects editor Wendi Winters, reporter John McNamara and sales assistant Rebecca Smith.

The killings initially stirred fears that the recent political attacks on the "fake news media" had exploded into violence, and police tightened security at news organisations in New York and other places.

But Ramos had a specific, long-standing grievance against the paper.

The shooter set a deadly trap. He barricaded the back entrance to the newsroom before coming around to the front and opening fire on the trapped staff members.

At the White House, US President Donald Trump, who routinely calls reporters "liars" and "enemies of the people", said: "Journalists, like all Americans, should be free from the fear of being violently attacked while doing their jobs."

Prosecutor Wes Adams said Ramos carefully planned the attack, barricading the back door and using "a tactical approach in hunting down and shooting the innocent people".

Adams said the gunman, who was captured hiding under a desk and did not exchange fire with police, also had an escape plan but the prosecutor would not elaborate.

The attack began with a shotgun blast that shattered the glass entrance to the open newsroom. Journalists crawled under desks and sought other hiding places, describing agonising minutes of terror as they heard the gunman's footsteps and the repeated blasts of the weapon.

About 300 local, state and federal officers converged on the scene and within two minutes police had begun to corner Ramos, a rapid response that "without question" saved lives, Altomare said.

Ramos was identified quickly with the help of facial recognition technology because of a "lag" in running his fingerprints, the chief said. Police denied news reports that Ramos had mutilated his fingertips to avoid identification.

The chief said the weapon was a 12-gauge shotgun, legally purchased about a year ago despite the harassment case against Ramos. Authorities said he also carried smoke grenades.

Ramos apparently held a grudge against the Capital Gazette's journalists over its 2011 coverage of his harassment of a woman. He filed a defamation suit against the paper in 2012 that was thrown out as groundless.

He routinely sent profanity-laced tweets about the paper and its writers. Retired publisher Tom Marquardt said he called police in 2013, telling his wife at the time that he thought he could hurt them.

The police chief said the newspaper did not press charges at the time because "there was a fear that doing so would exacerbate an already flammable situation".

In 2015, Ramos tweeted that he would like to see the paper stop publishing but "it would be nicer" to see two of its journalists "cease breathing".

The newspaper said two other employees were treated for minor injuries.

The city of Annapolis announced a vigil for the victims on Friday night at a public square near the Capitol.

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