ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The crowd sang the last notes of “Amazing Grace,” and Pat Furgurson stepped to the microphone, a reporter’s notebook tucked into his back pocket.

“For a moment yesterday, the sword was mightier,” said Mr. Furgurson, a reporter for The Capital, where five people were killed in a shooting on Thursday afternoon. “But this morning, we put out a newspaper. And we’ll put out a newspaper tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day.”

Mr. Furgurson was standing in front of at least 200 people at a vigil by a mall parking lot on Friday night. In front of him were five tall candles, one for each victim. Across the street, the building that houses the Capital Gazette office was still cordoned off with police tape.

“We’ll continue to do our bit to provide real news to better inform citizens in this republic,” Mr. Furgurson said. “We are not the enemy. We are you.”