Five people killed in shooting at Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis

“Our criminal investigation division has one person in custody,” Krampf continued, saying interrogations were ongoing.

At a second press conference, Krampf said a possible explosive device was retrieved from the scene. Lt. Ryan Frashure, the Anne Arundel County Police spokesman, added the shooter — a white, adult male — did not exchange gunfire with officers. He said the suspected weapon that was used was a long gun.

Anne Arundel County Executive Steve Schuh also told reporters wounded individuals were taken for treatment at nearby hospitals, including Anne Arundel Medical Center and the University of Maryland’s Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center.

Phil Davis, Capital Gazette’s courts and crime reporter, wrote on Twitter that a single gunman “shot through the glass door and opened fire on multiple employees.”

“Can’t say much more and don’t want to declare anyone dead, but it’s bad,” he tweeted. “There is nothing more terrifying than hearing multiple people get shot while you’re under your desk and then hear the gunman reload.”

[Reporter at Capital Gazette newspaper tweets details of shooting]

In an interview with the Baltimore Sun, Davis described the newsroom “as a war zone,” saying he didn’t know what caused the shooter to stop firing his weapon.

“I’m a police reporter. I write about this stuff — not necessarily to this extent, but shootings and death — all the time,” he 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.”

Officers gathered at the 800 block of Bestgate Road within 60 to 90 seconds of reports of an active shooter, according to official Twitter accounts linked to Annapolis Police and Anne Arundel County Police. More than 100 people were quickly evacuated from the building at 888 Bestgate Road. Police also swept the newsroom of the Baltimore Sun, which owns the Capital Gazette.

Federal agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and officers from Maryland State Police were among the official response. A reunification center was set-up near the Lord & Taylor, Westfield Annapolis, for family and friends to reconnect with loved ones.

President Trump, who is traveling in Wisconsin, was briefed on the situation in Annapolis, the White House said, via a press pool report. “Our thoughts and prayers are with all that are affected,” said a White House spokesperson, per CNN’s Jim Acosta.

Trump later took to Twitter to thank first responders for their work.

[Related: Journalists call out Trump for anti-press rhetoric following Annapolis newsroom shooting]

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said he was “absolutely devastated to learn of this tragedy in Annapolis.”

“Praying for those at the scene and for our community,” Hogan wrote on Twitter.

Many people were first alerted to the incident after Anthony Messenger, an intern with the Gazette, tweeted about an “active shooter” situation and included an address for the paper.

In the wake of the shooting, multiple news outlets reported that the New York Police Department was stationing officers outside the city’s major newsroom headquarters out of an abundance of caution.