Trump says journalists should be fearless of being violently attacked
What's the story
Journalists should be free from the fear of being violently attacked while doing their job, US President Donald Trump said today, a day after the deadly newspaper office shooting in the Maryland state of the US. The shooting at the Capital Gazette newspaper office in Annapolis, Maryland, nearly 50km from Washington, killed 5 persons working for the newspaper and three others. Here's more.
Twitter Post
Trump commiserates with the families of the victims
Before going any further today, I want to address the horrific shooting that took place yesterday at the Capital Gazette newsroom in Annapolis, Maryland. This attack shocked the conscience of our Nation, and filled our hearts with grief... pic.twitter.com/LALXGhk04b
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 29, 2018
Shooter
Shooter had earlier filed defamation case against the Capital
The shooter identified as Jarrod Warren Ramos, 38, has today been charged with five counts of first-degree murder. Ramos had previously filed a defamation suit against the newspaper in 2012. Anne Arundel County Deputy Police Chief, William Krampf, said at a news conference that the shooter used a legally-bought pump-action shotgun to commit the crime and police have found evidence at his home.
Security beefed up
Security tightened around media houses in US
The five unfortunate persons killed in the deadly gun rampage at the Capital Gazette office were the assistant editor Rob Hiaasen, editorial page editor Gerald Fischman, editor and reporter John McNamara, special publications editor Wendi Winters, and sales assistant Rebecca Smith, the police said. Meanwhile, as a precautionary measure, security was tightened outside many media offices across the United States.
Twitter Post
7 journalists have been killed in the US since 1992
According to CPJ research, #CapitalGazetteShooting marked the deadliest single attack on the media in recent U.S. history. Until this week, seven journalists had been killed in relation to their work in the U.S. since we began keeping records in 1992. https://t.co/NE2ndgMIId
— Committee to Protect Journalists (@pressfreedom) June 29, 2018