UPDATE | 5 dead, others wounded at Maryland newspaper shooting

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A gunman opened fire at a newspaper office in Annapolis today, killing five people and gravely wounding a number of others before being taken into custody in what appeared to be one of the deadliest attacks on journalists in U.S. history, police and witnesses said.

Police gave no immediate details on the gunman or the motive for the attack at The Capital Gazette and said he was being interrogated. Authorities said they also found what they believed to be an explosive device.

Phil Davis, a reporter who covers courts and crime for the paper, tweeted that the gunman shot out the glass door to the office and fired into the newsroom, sending people scrambling for cover under desks.

"A single shooter shot multiple people at my office, some of whom are dead," he wrote.

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

The gunman, who officials said was not carrying identification, is believed to have used a shotgun, according to a U.S. official who was briefed on the investigation but not authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The official said the gunman was not cooperating with investigators.

Anne Arundel County Acting Police Chief William Krampf confirmed five deaths and said several others were gravely hurt.

The New York Police Department immediately deployed counterterrorism teams to news organizations around the city in a move police said was prompted not by any specific threat and was instead done as a precaution. Police could be seen outside The New York Times, ABC News and Fox News early in the evening.

In Maryland, police spokesman Lt. Ryan Frashure said officers raced to the scene, arriving in 60 seconds, and took the gunman into custody without an exchange of gunfire.

At least two hospitals said they received three patients, two of them with minor injuries not caused by gunshots.

4:36 p.m.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Multiple people were shot today at a newspaper in Annapolis, and police said a suspect was in custody.

A reporter at The Capital Gazette tweeted a single individual fired into the newsroom and shot multiple employees. Phil Davis, who covers business and politics for the newspaper, tweeted the gunman fired through the glass door to the office.

"A single shooter shot multiple people at my office, some of whom are dead," he tweeted. Officials declined to officially confirm if anyone was killed.

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

Anne Arundel County Police Department spokesman Marc Limansky said officers were searching the building.

Another police spokesman Lt. Ryan Frashure said at a news conference, "We did have an active-shooter situation inside that building. Again we do have injuries. I can't give the extent of those injuries at this point." He said officers must look for other dangers, such as bombs and other shooters.

Arminta Plater, a spokeswoman for a hospital near the newspaper, said two patients had arrived there but she did not know their conditions.

On TV reports, people could be seen leaving the building with their hands up, as police urged them to depart through a parking lot and officers converged.

A gas station employee near the shooting scene described a flood of police activity in the area as he sat tight inside his still-open workplace.

In a phone interview, Carlos Wallace, who works just down the street from the newspaper's offices, estimated that "dozens of dozens" of law enforcement vehicles and ambulances had raced toward the scene with sirens blaring.

"The road is blocked off real good. It's like dozens of dozens of emergency vehicles, police cars of all types, explosive vehicles, battering ram vehicles, all kinds of stuff," Wallace said about 3:50 p.m.

The newspaper is part of Capital Gazette Communications, which also publishes the Maryland Gazette and CapitalGazette.com. It is part of the Baltimore Sun Media Group.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan issued a statement saying he was "absolutely devastated" at the tragedy. Officials said President Donald Trump had been briefed on it. White House spokeswoman Lindsay Waters told reporters, "our thoughts and prayers are with all that are affected."