A reporter at The Republican newspaper in Massachusetts resigned Friday after falsely claiming on Twitter that the man accused of gunning down five journalists Thursday at a Maryland newspaper wore a “Make America Great Again” hat as he carried out his attack.

Conor Berry apologized for the mistake in a pinned tweet, calling it “stupid” and “regrettable.” His Twitter bio now states, “Former newspaper reporter.”

Folks, My 21-year career as a “journalist,” a fancy term that makes my skin crawl, frankly, came to a screeching halt yesterday with one stupid, regrettable tweet. Can’t take it back; wish I could. My sincere apologies to all good, hardworking reporters and to POTUS supporters. — CONOR BERRY (@CBerry413) June 29, 2018

According to his staff page on The Republican’s website MassLive.com, Mr. Berry has worked for years as a reporter in Massachusetts, New York and Vermont, “covering everything from politics and marine science issues to crime and courts.”

MassLive.com reported Friday that Mr. Berry resigned from his post after taking “full responsibility” for his mistake.

Wayne Phaneuf, executive editor of The Republican, said in a statement that now was not the time for lazy reporting.

“We need to be more vigilant than ever to be fair and accurate in a climate in which we are scrutinized and criticized,” Mr. Phaneuf said. “The Republican newspaper and our partners at MassLive.com are committed to report the news with the truth paramount.”

Five people were killed and others injured when a man with a shotgun opened fire in the newsroom at the Capital newspaper in Annapolis Thursday afternoon. The man was said to have a vendetta against the newspaper for its reporting on him back in 2011, for which he sued for defamation at the time and lost.

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