The 5 Victims of the Capital Gazette Newsroom Shooting in Annapolis

195 mass killings already this year, and the year is barely half over. Why can't this country get a clue and do something about all the weapons of mass carnage that is ridiculously available throughout the United States?

As a former newspaper reporter, I offer my condolences to the families of the journalists whose lives were taken this week by an unwell man. Journalists perform a vital public service by reporting the local, state, federal and international news to the public at a very low cost for usually very low pay, as most journalists are not making the big bucks. Journalists have jobs that are exciting, challenging, stressful and as this tragedy reminds us, potentially dangerous. By just doing their jobs and reporting the news, journalists can make enemies of story subjects and sources, ranging from public figures, such as politicians and entertainers, to everyday people. Many years ago, after I received my first complaint from an angry councilwoman after quoting her in a story, Charlie, my first editor, told me: “It goes with the territory.” Yes, Charlie, it does. We owe the victims of this tragedy a greater effort to obtain serious gun control from the U.S. Congress and President Trump to protect the American public. We owe them a greater effort to secure newsrooms which may be too open to protect journalists today in this era of the 24-hour news cycle and the contentious red-versus-blue political divide. Finally, we owe them a reconsideration of the nascent public shaming trend because harassing our political adversaries while they are living their lives is just the type of antisocial behavior that could encourage the tragedy that occurred in the Capital Gazette newsroom this week.

The shooter should be charged for attempted murder for each of the injured in addition to the murder charges.

Every newspaper in this country should print the headline: "President Trump, stop attacking the Press!"

I am not sending thoughts or prayers. I am shedding tears and wondering what I can do to help stop these incidents.

What is so heartbreaking besides the murder of these innocent people whose only mistake was showing up for work is that we have, again, lost the type of people we should want more of, not less. How much longer can our country stand when we are willing to sacrifice the lives of so many good people in order that anyone and everyone can have easy access to guns? And let's not forget, the impact does not stop with those killed. They had parents, children, spouses, friends and colleagues whose lives are forever altered, and lived in communities that are forever scarred. The compounded grief and sadness of so many followed by depression, cynicism and despair are not qualities that make the United States a beacon of hope or an example of a secure and thriving nation.

I had to switch the channel when Trump’s remarks about the shootings were aired. All I know right now is that an obviously unbalanced and very angry man took his rifle and shot up a community newspaper office, killing five journalists, wounding others, and leaving a city in shock. I won’t yet make a connection between this man’s actions with the recent verbal attacks on the press by Trump and other extremist, right-wingers. But that does not mean I have to listen to anything Trump has to say about this tragedy. I won’t be a part in neither the shallowness nor the hypocrisy. He just needs to keep quiet and maybe do a little reflecting on the role of a free press in this nation, and how seriously journalists on all media platforms take their responsibility to pursue the truth, wherever it leads. As a former journalist, I mourn The Capital Gazette staff’s loss and offer my condolences to their families and friends. I am also incredibly proud of them for their resolve in “getting the ... paper out” under horrific circumstances. THAT is what a free press is all about, Mr. President. It will not be intimidated nor silenced.

Thank you, NYTimes, for always posting these. It's easy to get fatigue over these shootings, but these profiles always bring it right back where it needs to be for me--the senseless heartbreaking tragedy. I see all of them. I look into their eyes and I feel a tiny bit of their family's pain.

On Jan 8, 2011, a maniac shot congresswomen Gabrielle Gifford in the head, 17 other people were also shot that day, 6 died including a little girl who had come to meet her role model. The madman didn't see the little girl, the insane see only what their delusions allow them to see. At the time the nation was rightly shocked and saddened. We didn't know at the time that it was just the beginning of a wave of madness, that connects the shootings of little children, high school students, teachers, police officers, working people in offices, and now 5 people at a newspaper. Lets face facts there are mentally disturbed people out there plenty of them, violent angry people, protected too long by laws that protect their right to be insane, what about our rights to be protected from violent and dangerous individuals, who collect arsenals while displaying every warning signs of severe mental disease. We can blame the guns all we want, I think its time to start blaming the humans. If someone displays violent aggressive actions coupled with a mental disorder, then all his weapons should be confiscated and he must go to mandatory psychological counseling. It's too late for that beautiful little girl who was so excited to meet her personal hero, and for the five innocent souls yesterday and all the rest, the endless list of good people taken away by a madman and mad thoughts, but maybe we can understand at long last the problem is mental disease...time to do something about it.

You can tell a lot about people by looking at their faces. The 5 Capital Gazette staff members' faces reflect warmth, kindness, a sense of humor, intellect, curiosity. Before I had read that their salaries are extraordinarily low, I might have guessed that they would work for a pittance to be an important part of the Gazette's historic tradition. A free press and journalistic integrity are the last hope for those of us who love America the last hope for those of us who love America. These 5 deserve as much credit as soldiers in senseless war...thank you for your service.

The electorate must demand real and significant gun law reform and must insist that any person running for political office on any level must first and foremost stand upon that platform. The media has a role to play in keeping the public focused on that goal and in moving public opinion toward that direction. The electorate must not be distracted by the machinations of the powerful influences who feel otherwise. This is the only way for us to effect change and I think if we accomplish this achievable goal many other progressive issues will follow.

Let's just be totally clear about the Orwellian doublespeak: One says "thoughts and prayers are with the victims" One means "I do not care enough to do anything"

Dana Loesch of the NRA wanted journalists to be 'curb-stomped.' Her hostility and the hostility of Trump might have played a part in this terrible event. Let's hold them responsible for their words. We have to defend journalism. Reporters' jobs are becoming more difficult all the time. We need them more than ever to tell us what is going on. There are so many on the right who don't want us to know what is happening.

Our President debases our press, just enough to set off an unbalanced shooter who has an existing issue with a News Paper, marry this pathetic leadership with no gun control and you have the Capital Gazette disaster. My heart breaks for the innocent Reporters that died. Remember Pizza Gate, that could have been just as horrible. Everyone needs to curb what they say, written and verbal.

There are simply no words to express my grief for these hard-working news people and their loved ones. They are victims of the hate-anger-fear campaign fostered by The Con Don, fox so-called news, Steve Bannon, Peter Thiel, the Koch brothers, radical christians, and all the other International Mafia operatives. My guess is that they will find this monster was/is another one. It's hard to imagine that the timing of this mass shooting in a supposed "fake news" office was spontaneous. Who has been paying for his lawsuits against the media and judicial system? Follow the money. Thanks to all the honest reporters and news agencies who are trying to bring us true news. Please, Good People, do not be afraid. Insist that the owners install serious security measures and provide you with personal security and legal help is you are personally threatened. WE THE PEOPLE, with your help, are going to stop this Robber Baron-sponsored reign of terror and forced march to 3rd world status NOW.

Another heartbreaking reminder of the need for sensible gun control laws. There will always be angry, mentally unstable people in every society. But only in the U.S. is buying fire arms like picking up a pack of gum.

The reason we don’t have a draft is ostensibly that we want people to volunteer to put their life on the line for our freedom, rather than coercing people. It is completely shameful that we don’t regulate firearms, to the point where every citizen has no choice about whether to risk their life going about their daily business.

As a Marylander treasuring Annapolis & the sanctity of life I weep over the savagery slumbering in us tweaked by mental illness. How the tragic tableau can be wiped cleaned? No answers specific at hand. Our self-inflicted disease may finally go to making antibodies to combat the disease. Paradox at work. The alternative is deadly.

The tragedy of knowing OF some of these fine people through friends is that their loss extends everywhere in Maryland. When I learned of thiss I thought of all the journalists worldwide who are daily under fire and almost expect such an outcome, but these people who were doing the community work of journalism should never have had to face this hate and this violence. I attribute this to the hate sold and peddled by some like Milo Yiannopoulos who said journalists should be 'shot on sight' and the hateful treatment of the media in general of Mr Trump. And we get scolded for excusing the invitation to leave a restaurant of Sanders, where is the broader justice for the good and the talented?

Ramos was not firing fake bullets, and certainly the 5 people he killed were not writing fake news because no one in a newsroom gets away with doing that; most reporters anywhere in America would not tolerate another writer getting away with lying in print. The Mad King attacks the press, and a Mad Man shoots them. This is a simple truth.

it is quite shocking to see these americans, the people I see every day on the trolley, at work, in the parks - to think that their end, while sitting at their desks, or thinking about going to get some lunch, or what to do after work, shocking to think that their fate is to be blown apart by bullets, to lie fragmented on their office floor, bleeding out and dying, in an atmosphere that was about as toxic as a kindergarden, previous to this day. We CAN recall millions of guns, we CAN make laws that work, we Can enforce laws so that they work. To not believe that laws and regulations are the solution is to not believe in our rule of law.

America, wake up and see this tragedy as a repeat of the same, repeated over and over again. The NRA and those to encourage gun use, ownership need to deeply feel the evil, the hurt. The NRA should be anathema to America; guns are not needed to protect us; we have much more powerful tools including community, education, our vote, protests and marches, and peaceful disobedience. How many joined those remarkable Parkland high school students in the March protest in Washington DC? Many but not enough, not nearly enough...if Walt Whitman were alive today would he be writing "I hear America Singing" or "I hear America Crying"

One hesitates to read accounts of the victims of shootings because of their ability to upset and bring on tears. This piece was most affecting and did just that. But we must do more than grieve to prevent the endless barrage of gunfire that kills too many among us.

Although I hate to politicize this tragedy, there is a straight line that connects this shooting of newspaper journalists with Trump's constant, horrendous and continuing vilification of the mainstream media as "fake news", the "enemy of the people" and "traitors". Trump's inflammatory language to endlessly demonize reporters in almost every speech, photo op and tweet that he sends out on daily basis, absolutely make him partially responsible for this incident. Even the First Amendment has limitations. For example, you cannot falsely yell "Fire" in crowded theater, which could lead to injuries from people running out in panic.

Regardless of motivation, a lethal attack like this on this country's free and honest press, typified by The Capital, is a shock wave through our democratic society and the First Amendment to the Constitution.

A free and unbiased press is the front line of democracy. And that's not fake news.

More needless deaths from guns in America, in the hands of the mentally disturbed. But nothing changes. And Pres. Trump's words are as hollow as ever...God bless the victims!

I hope the NY Times and other members of the media set a precedent with this tragedy and make it the first one they didn't put a name, photograph and full biography of the mass murderer on their pages and our television screens. Not too long ago an article was published by the Times mentioning the link researchers found between the media turning these individuals into household names, perpetuating the infamous legacy they desire and future attacks. It's long overdue for the message to be sent to others considering doing the same that they won't be given the attention and remembrance they so desperately crave through evil acts. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/30/us/school-shootings-columbine.html?co...

Reading about these wonderful and talented people makes me weep and then scream at all the N.R.A. bought politicians who have the blood of these people and all the others gunned down on their hands. We must end this "American carnage." We must vote this November against all who support the N.R.A. and the endless murders of such beautiful and dedicated people. There are way too many guns in the hands of angry young males. The Parkland students are right--#NeverAgain.

Heartbreaking. I am teary-eyed as I read about these dedicated people who showed up at work to do their jobs, providing news coverage to their community, and were murdered by a lone man with a shotgun. How did we let this story become the narrative of our country? We need to do better with gun control. It's not the only solution, but it's a first step.

As a writer who has worked at two daily newspapers, my heart goes out to the family and friends of these victims. Just tragic. What kind of person would do this: shoot people hard at working keeping their communities informed? I am holding my breath about the killer's motive. If he did it in answer to the current administration's war on the media, we are in big trouble, as the fourth estate is a pillar of our democracy. If reporters start shying away from covering controversial subjects out of fear of violence, that would signal to me we have officially regressed to a banana republic.

Honest citizens serving their community. Such senseless loss. Unfortunately, it's trite to even say at this point, but my heart goes out to the community and the families of these individuals. I worry about the world my daughter is growing up in.

I haven't read the details of this newest mass murder in a faraway place in America any more than I would read the details of a car crash that killed five people in another state. (If it happened in my county or if I knew any of the people, I would read it.) The difference in mass murders and car crashes now is that great progress has been made making car travel safer and more survivable. Stronger anti-drunk driving laws and more public education, a general shift in public opinion against driving after social drinking, mandatory coverage under insurance of alcoholism and drug addiction treatment, more local treatment resources and more family interventions. Highways have been designed with more attention to safety and of course the government has mandated safety features in cars like air bags and seat belt and child safety seat use, while manufacturers have offered others like anti-lock brakes, electronic stability control and rear-end crash avoidance systems and are spending billions in research on self-driving vehicles promising to make crashes obsolete. But it is clear that Republican governments at all levels have no intention of making any similar effort to make us all safer from guns and those who would use them against us, So until voters care enough about the victims of gun violence like these five journalists to vote Republicans out of power at every level, we may as well consider mass murders just another car crash in somebody else's neighborhood.

Journalists work very hard to determine what is true and report it in an interesting way and always doing so to meet deadlines. Every account misses something that others present might see and so when reading news accounts of events one has witnessed one notices discrepancies. But the most affective part of an account is when you are covered. Even when you know that what is described is accurate it can seem strange and not what you recall. It’s just having a mirror held up and you did not expect what you see in it. Journalists have to deal with criticism from a lot of people over accounts that they know are accurate and fair. How can they know who really might try to harm them?

This mass shooting, like most others, appears to be the result of an isolated, personal vendetta rather than a random selection of victims. It can happen anywhere, particularly in the U.S. due to its powerful gun lobby. There have been several hundred mass shootings in the U.S. this year, but only a few receive national coverage.

Perhaps the grownups in the White House, assuming there are any, will admonish Mr. Trump to cease ginning up his base to hate the press. His threats and even his encouragement to harm journalists began at his pre-presidential rallies. He continues to ridicule them, some by name, and often characterizes them as “really bad people”. What happened yesterday in Annapolis may have had nothing to do with his war with the press. We don’t know. But his constant attack on the fourth estate and the First Amendment is unprecedented and in the name of decency and our liberty must stop.

Another senseless tragedy. My heart goes out to the victim's families, coworkers, and friends, to the injured, and to those who who were not physically hurt but were traumatized. We are all at risk, thanks to the GOP and the NRA...vote Democratic if you want this to ever stop.

As an aside to this tragedy, the president and pundits alike need to quit badmouthing our press. Trump actually said he does it to make the public less aware of what is really happening. Our republic depends on a free press. The penning up of reporters at these "rallies" is a grotesque and disrespectful treatment of our Fourth Estate. That fool Milo "kidding" about telling people to shoot journalists as vigilantes should have his passport pulled.

Sad and senseless killing of good people. Thank you New York Times for making the story about the victims and not the perpetrator of the crime.

The Times started these profiles after 911 and I read every single one. I felt it was my obligation to honor and know just a little about these people. And so I go on. Each time we have a mass causality caused by gun violence I read the profiles and wonder when will it stop. Because we are not addressing the dual problem of too many guns in the hands of mentally unstable people. It is not rare, it is not an aberration. The NRA owns America lock, stock and barrel.

All of America suffers when something evil like this happens. These fine people are guilty of one thing...doing their job and doing it with character, dignity, professionalism, and with respect. This is what hate and an ugly landscape against our free press and our courageous journalist looks like. When it starts at the top, all of America is at risk and suffers. Thoughts and prayers will not stop these senseless and evil acts, only action will. Unfortunately, that action will not be coming.

Tragic losses, all.

These people are heroes. This is so tragic. As I wrote in my comment on the main article: I served in Iraq and Afghanistan in our military. My dad served in combat in WW II. It's patriotism, to defend our Constitution and Bill of Rights. These newspaper victims, and all in the Press who accurately report and write about the news, are just as patriotic. They are heroes. This is a terrible tragedy. It also highlights the the fact that the Press is under increasing siege in our country. Well, it is not "fake news" that 5 upstanding and accomplished patriots are dead for doing the work of a Free Press that is essential to our democracy. Americans appreciate veterans. We should just as much appreciate all who accurately and with intelligence report the news.

Thank you for making it about the victims. A great tribute for their families and friends.

Sadly, this is now our America. Founded on violence. Freed by violence. Now, just violent. Thank you for your wonderful words about good people

A long-time Californian and friend of the former publisher of the Baltimore Sun, I grew up 11 miles from Annapolis. Is there yet a single American who is but a single degree of separation from a victim of gun violence?

Thanks for publishing the photos of these unfortunate victims, as opposed to the posting of the killer's mug, which is usually done. It is more respectful. I don't need or want to see the face of the murderer.

There have been a lot changes in the news industry, the newspaper industry specifically, but one constant remains--the reporter, the journalist, the community writer who goes out everyday to gather information from sources, cover government events, find out what's happening in the community to report on its goings on, warts and all. These are dedicated Americans who rush in to cover traumatic events as well as work quietly to uncover corruption at all levels. They do this because they believe in our ideals as a country that a free society needs people like these to inform the citizenry. A liberal democracy requires a free press. Only dictators fear their criticism because they can't control what a person writes. These journalists died defending an ideal that keeps America free and strong. They don't ask for much and don't expect much. We praise them with great praise and we should appreciate all the journalists out there reporting and holding the powerful accountable.

5 more precious lives abruptly , cruelly ended in another ROUTINE senseless act !! Dear gun owners ,Please consider returning your guns. You all have FULL rights to enjoy a free, full and meaningful life without the weapons ! #SaveFellowAmericans and render the gun lobby useless !!

Tears swell in my eyes as I read about the victims and the families having to endure this tragedy. My own anger swells with frustration that our own government does nothing. The loss of heartfelt, ethical decisions from our government seem to be going by the wayside in America. Cold human beings. I just don't get it.

These murders ripped out those who held the memory and knowledge of a community, and told its stories and pointed out problems. My heart goes out to The Capital, the victims' families and friends, and their readers.

Bless them, and thank you for a wonderful tribute.

Reading about these innocent victims breaks my heart - they go to work one day and never return. And each one of them sounds like such an incredible human being - my thoughts go out to their loved ones in this awful time. And of course thoughts are never enough - when what the bereaved want more than anything else is the return of the loved one. I know this all too well since it is exactly a year ago that my younger brother died unexpectedly - although in his case it was due to illness - not because of a deranged madman. Not a day goes by that I am not aware of his loss and I know that I will be missing him the rest of my life. And, of course, it is well past the time that our society should be taking action on gun control.

This was a senseless and tragic occurrence. Brings the spotlight and attention on hard working and dedicated journalist working tirelessly to provide "real news" every day. We can certainly applaud and thank all journalist, and feel from the heart the loss of these people, who had no idea their epitaph would read as a news story when a gun man came into their office building to shoot them. Prayers to the families and friends who's lives they touched.

These were people that will be missed by all that read this paper, all those that loved them and all those that knew them. Our media and our journalists are professionals they are not the enemy. We the people trust and depend on them every day to get the facts and to speak out to power and tell the story, you make our country stronger. Heal your pain of loss and get back to doing your bit as Journalists wherever you live and thank you for all you do.