Random shooting in newsroom kills several employees

Random shooting once again takes place in the US. Only this time it is not in a school but in a newsroom.

 At least five people were killed Thursday when a gunman opened fire inside the offices of the Capital Gazette, a newspaper published in Annapolis, a historic city an hour east of Washington.

A reporter for the daily, Phil Davis tweeted

Gunman shot through the glass door to the office and opened fire on multiple employees. Can’t say much more and don’t want to declare anyone dead, but it’s bad.

— Phil Davis (@PhilDavis_CG) June 28, 2018

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

“There are five fatalities that we know of. There are several other persons that are gravely injured,” acting police chief of Anne Arundel county Bill Krampf told a news conference in the city, capital of the state of Maryland.

Steve Schuh, county executive, said a suspect was in custody and was being interviewed by detectives.

READ ALSO: Waffle House restaurant shootout: gunman suspect arrested 

Lieutenant Ryan Frashure, a police spokesman, earlier told the reporters that the police were making sure no one had helped the suspect or were suspects themselves, and were combing the building for bombs.

“We’re doing our very best to get the building secure,” he added.

President Donald Trump was briefed on the incident and tweeted a message of support.

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

“Absolutely devastated to learn of this tragedy in Annapolis,” Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said. “Please, heed all warnings and stay away from the area. Praying for those at the scene and for our community.”

This recent shooting has the lawmakers once again taking up arms to tighten the gun law in the country.

A recent study found that Americans own 40% of the world’s firearms despite accounting for only 4% of the global population. 

Of the 857 million guns owned by civilians, 393 million are in the United States — more than all of the firearms held by ordinary citizens in the other top 25 countries combined, according to the Small Arms Survey.

Advocates of tougher gun laws have stepped up their efforts in the wake of numerous school shootings this year, including the killing of 17 people at a Parkland, Florida high school in February and the killing of 10 people at a Texas high school in May.

So far the results have been relatively modest. Florida has raised the legal age to buy firearms from 18 to 21, while Texas Governor Greg Abbott focused on mental health and improving school safety in his list of recommendations following the Santa Fe shooting in the rural southeast of his state. 

But he also called for requiring gun owners to report lost firearms and for allowing law enforcement to temporarily take away guns from people determined by courts to be “potentially dangerous” to themselves or others.