5 killed in US newsroom shooting, suspect detained
Washington, June 29 : Five people were killed and two others injured when a man armed with a shotgun and smoke grenades stormed into the newsroom of a community newspaper chain in the US state of Maryland, prompting law enforcement agencies to provide protection at the headquarters of all American media organisations.
The suspect, identified as Jarrod W. Ramos, 38, was taken into custody after the targeted attack on Thursday at the office of the Capital Gazette located in Annapolis, reports The New York Times.
The attack has been deemed as the deadliest day for journalism in America in several years. Ramos had a long history of conflict with the daily, which produces a number of local newspapers along Maryland's shore.
He lost a defamation case against the paper in 2015 over a 2011 column he contended defamed him. The column provided an account of Ramos's guilty plea to criminal harassment of a woman over social media.
"This person was prepared today to come in, this person was prepared to shoot people," The Washington Post quoted Anne Arundel County Deputy Police Chief William Krampf said. "His intent was to cause harm."
The police said all of the victims killed were Capital Gazette employees: Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith and Wendi Winters.
Fischman and Hiaasen were editors, McNamara was a reporter, Smith was a sales assistant and Winters worked for special publications, according to the newspaper's website.
Four of the victims died on the spot while the fifth was pronounced dead at the University of Maryland Medical Centre.
The shooting began at about 3 p.m. in the office building just outside downtown Annapolis, The Washington Post reported. Ramos entered the building with a shotgun and looked for his victims, the police said.
The police, who arrived at the scene within a minute of the reported gunfire, apprehended Ramos found hiding under a desk in the newsroom.
Gazette reporter Phil Davis described the scene as a "war zone" and a situation that would be "hard to describe for a while".
After his arrest, Ramos refused to cooperate with the authorities or provide his name. He was identified using facial recognition technology, a law enforcement official told The New York Times.
President Donald Trump tweeted: "My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families," CNN reported.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said: "The senseless attack on a Maryland newspaper today is sickening. God bless these journalists. We pray for them and their families tonight."
Joel Simon, Executive Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, said that violence against journalists was unacceptable. "Newspapers like the Gazette do vital work, and our thoughts are with them amid this unconscionable tragedy," he added.
The Capital Gazette, which has an editorial staff of 31 people, had a daily circulation of about 29,000 and a Sunday circulation of 34,000 as of 2014.
Commonly referred to as the Capital, the paper was founded in 1884 as the Evening Gazette. The paper promotes itself as one of the oldest publishers in the country, with roots dating to the Maryland Gazette in 1727.
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Karnataka to hike registration fee for commercial vehicles from May 1: Report
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Bengaluru: Starting May 1, registration fee for commercial vehicles priced within Rs 10 lakh and for those used in the construction sector will be increased as the state government is implementing the Karnataka Motor Vehicle Taxation (Amendment) Act, despite opposition from commercial vehicle operators.
The lifetime tax for cabs that cost less than Rs 10 lakh will be 5 percent of the cost of the vehicle, as reported by The New Indian Express on Wednesday.
The report noted that, until now, lifetime taxes were not levied in a lump sum on commercial vehicles (taxis) costing less than Rs 10 lakh; instead, taxes were collected quarterly at a rate of Rs 100 per seat for a four-seater vehicle.
“So every commercial vehicle priced within Rs 10 lakh annually paid tax of around Rs 1,800, including the cess. But now, the slabs have been revised and we have to pay lifetime tax at one go,” TNIE quoted K. Radhakrishna Holla, president, Karnataka State Travel Operators’ Association, as saying.
He added that buyers of vehicles priced within Rs 10 lakh, which include most commercial vehicles, will now have to pay approximately Rs 50,000 as lifetime tax upfront at the time of registration.
As per the revised slabs, those purchasing vehicles in the Rs 10–15 lakh range will be required to pay 9 percent of the vehicle’s cost as lifetime tax. Additionally, buyers of vehicles priced at Rs 15 lakh and above will now be required to pay 15 percent of the vehicle’s cost as lifetime tax.
Electric vehicles (EVs) priced above Rs 25 lakh were exempted from road tax. But now, it will now attract a 10 percent tax on the vehicle’s cost.
However, Radhakrishna Holla warned that taxing high-end EVs could further slow the state’s already lagging adoption of electric vehicles. “At this juncture, the government should not be levying taxes on e-vehicles. It will discourage people from operating commercial e-cars,” he said.
Vehicles used in the construction sector, as well as those equipped with air compressors and generators, will attract a lifetime tax of 8 percent of the vehicle’s cost, added the report.
The state government has set a revenue target of Rs 15,000 crore for the Transport Department in the 2025–26 fiscal year, with the revised taxation expected to boost collections.
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