As Thursday’s mass shooting at the Capital Gazette played out on cable news and social media, the journalists caught in the newspaper’s Annapolis, Md., offices shared the horror of what they had witnessed. In one instance, an intern at the paper did so in real time.

Active shooter 888 Bestgate please help us — Anthony Messenger (@amesscapgaz) June 28, 2018

Phil Davis, the Capital Gazette’s courts and crime reporter, did his best to take stock of the carnage he witnessed that left at least five people dead and several gravely wounded.

A single shooter shot multiple people at my office, some of whom are dead. — Phil Davis (@PhilDavis_CG) June 28, 2018

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

In a later interview with the Gazette’s parent company, the Baltimore Sun, Davis reflected further on what he had been through.

“I’m a police reporter. I write about this stuff — not necessarily to this extent, but shootings and death — all the time,” Davis said. “But as much as I’m going to try to articulate how traumatizing it is to be hiding under your desk, you don’t know until you’re there and you feel helpless.”

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Authorities arrive at the office building that houses the Capital Gazette after the shooting Thursday. (Photo: Jose Luis Magana/AP)

In a national environment in which President Trump routinely attacks the integrity of reporters, as he did at a North Dakota rally on Wednesday night, some of the tweets written in the aftermath of the shooting, like those posted byJimmy DeButts, a Capital Gazette editor, referenced the negative public perception of journalism.

Devastated & heartbroken. Numb. Please stop asking for information/interviews. I’m in no position to speak, just know @capgaznews reporters & editors give all they have every day. There are no 40 hour weeks, no big paydays – just a passion for telling stories from our communty. — Jimmy DeButts (@jd3217) June 28, 2018

We try to expose corruption. We fight to get access to public records & bring to light the inner workings of government despite major hurdles put in our way. The reporters & editors put their all into finding the truth. That is our mission. Will always be. — Jimmy DeButts (@jd3217) June 28, 2018

We are there in times of tragedy. We do our best to share the stories of people, those who make our community better. Please understand, we do all this to serve our community. — Jimmy DeButts (@jd3217) June 28, 2018

Jarrod Ramos, the 38-year-old suspect who is now in police custody, is believed to have targeted the Capital Gazette over its coverage of allegations that he harassed a woman, a charge he pleaded guilty to in 2011. A year later, Ramos filed a defamation suit against the paper that a judge swiftly dismissed. Ramos is thought to have purposefully damaged his fingertips to avoid fingerprint identification, CBS News reports. Police also discovered smoke bombs and flash bang grenades in his backpack, according to CBS News.

Whatever the reason behind the latest instance of American gun carnage turns out to be, one tweet by a Capital Gazette reporter made clear that it would not be enough to halt the enterprise of journalism in a free society.

I can tell you this: We are putting out a damn paper tomorrow. — Chase Cook (@chaseacook) June 28, 2018

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