MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
At the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Md., today - a scene of horror. A shooter opened fire on the newsroom. Police say five are dead. More are wounded. And meanwhile, the Gazette's reporters kept on reporting, tweeting out the latest, updating the website. One reporter, Chase Cook, tweeted, I can tell you this; we are putting out a damn paper tomorrow. Police have the man they believe did the shootings in custody, and they say he had made threats against the Gazette.
Let's go now to Patrick Madden of WAMU, who joins us from the scene. Hi, Patrick.
PATRICK MADDEN, BYLINE: Hi, Mary Louise. That's right. So police updated us last hour, and we're learning more about the shooting suspect whom police have still not identified publicly. But they're saying he's white. He's in his late 30s, and he's from Maryland. And...
KELLY: And what do we know about these reported threats?
MADDEN: Right. And so according to police, this was a targeted attack against the newspaper. Apparently there were threats on social media made against the paper as late as today. And so it appears that this individual was not targeting anyone specifically, according to police, but was targeting the newspaper.
KELLY: OK. But again, to be clear, they have not released the name, and we don't know why this person might have been targeting the newspaper if that is in fact what unfolded. Walk me through the timeline of what we know what happened. This started - the shooting started mid-afternoon at the Gazette.
MADDEN: Right. This happened a little before 3 p.m. This individual, according to police, was armed with a shotgun as well as smoke grenades. And apparently, you know, the shooter opened fire, shooting through the glass door and then shooting people in the news room. Police were on the scene very quickly, a minute to 90 seconds. And they say that this alleged shooter was able - they apprehended him very quickly. There were no shots fired.
KELLY: He is in custody. They believe - police, at least at this point, have been briefing that they think it was just this one suspect that they do have in custody. Do we know if he's talking?
MADDEN: Police have said that he is - he has not been cooperative. They've been - you know, it took them a while to figure out who this individual is. Apparently, though, they - it sounds like they have figured out who he is, and they are either on the way to search this individual's home or are currently searching his home. And so I think we will know soon who this person is and hopefully figure out more about why they targeted this local newspaper here in Annapolis.
KELLY: And just a few seconds left - but any update on the people we said were wounded, where they are?
MADDEN: They are at the hospital. I believe the police have said that at least one or two of the wounds were superficial. So it sounds like at least for one or two of these victims, the injuries were not as severe as initially reported.
KELLY: OK. Patrick Madden of member station WAMU, thank you.
MADDEN: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
