'His attempt was to cause harm': Shooting at Maryland newsroom that killed 5 was a targeted attack, police say originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

The shooting at a Maryland newsroom that killed five people was a targeted attack, according to local police.

Anne Arundel Police Department Bill Krampf said that the assailant, armed with a shotgun, looked for victims in the newsroom of the Capital Gazette, a daily newspaper in Annapolis, which is located in the first floor of a multi-office building.

"He looked for his victims as he walked through the lower level," Krampf said in a news conference Thursday evening.

PHOTO: Maryland police officers block the intersection at the building entrance, after multiple people were shot at a newspaper in Annapolis, Md., June 28, 2018. (Jose Luis Magana/AP) More

Two people suffered superficial injuries, possibly from glass or the shotgun blast. The deceased were identified by police as Wendi Winters, Rebecca Smith, Rob Hiaasen, Gerald Fischman and John McNamara, all employees of the newspaper.

It is unclear if the gunman knew employees at the paper or if he was just targeting the business "in general," Krampf said. Investigators are that he "had a history with the newspaper," but that has not yet been confirmed, Krampf said.

The gunman was engaged by responding officers within about one minute and taken into custody, officials from Anne Arundel County Government said.

PHOTO: Officials and first responders gather outside an office building at 888 Bestgate Road in Annapolis, Md., after reports of a shooting in the offices of the Capital Gazette newspaper, June 28, 2018. (WJLA) More

There was no gunfire exchanged between the suspect and officers, officials said during an afternoon news briefing.

The suspected shooter wasn't carrying a wallet or identification and is not cooperating with authorities, officials told ABC News. He is a white male in his late 30s, Krampf said, adding that investigators are now securing his Maryland residence.

The police department did not release his identity, but law enforcement sources identified the alleged shooter to ABC News as Laurel, Maryland, resident Jarrod Ramos.

Authorities identified the gunman by using facial recognition, a law enforcement source told ABC News. It is unclear whether the facial recognition was from a photograph or witness, the source said.

He was not able to be identified using his fingerprints due to a problem with a machine, law enforcement officials told ABC News.

A law enforcement source initially told ABC News that the gunman had mutilated his fingers in an apparent attempt to avoid being identified but later clarified that statement.

"This person was prepared today to come in," Krampf said. "This person was prepared to shoot people. His intent was to cause harm."

PHOTO: Capital Gazette journalist E.B. 'Pat' Furgurson III takes notes with two other people as police officers respond to a shooting inside Capital Gazette offices in Annapolis, Md., June 28, 2018. (Greg Savoy/Reuters) More

Tom Marquardt, the former Editor of the Capital Gazette for 35 years, told ABC News that newspaper staff had dealt with threats in the past and have always been concerned about security. Marquardt personally got threats, as did others, but they were mostly anonymous, he said.

More than four years ago, he said he had called the Anne Arundel Police Department to alert them to threats from the alleged gunman, identified by law enforcement sources to ABC News as Laurel, Maryland, resident Jarrod Ramos. The police department has not released his identity.

Police had investigated the threats and visited Ramos at his home but did not have enough to charge him, Marquardt said.

Ramos was the subject of a story about allegations that he stalked his ex-girlfriend and was in a long legal fight with the paper, Marquardt said, adding that the legal battle was tame compared to his taunts and threats on social media.

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