Capital Gazette Shooting: UMD Journalism Lecturer, 2 Alumni Among Victims
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- University of Maryland College Park journalism lecturer Rob Hiaasen, alumni Gerald Fischman and John McNamara were killed in the Capital Gazette shooting Thursday afternoon.
Hiaasen, 59, taught one class at the University on multi-platform news writing and reporting this past spring. The University of Maryland newspaper The Diamondback reports he was supposed to teach it again in the fall semester.
Hiaasen was an assistant editor and columnist for the paper.
His brother Carl Hiaasen, a prolific novelist and a longtime columnist for the Miami Herald, told The Associated Press Rob was one of the most "gentle and funny people I've ever known."
RELATED: Veteran Journalist Rob Hiaasen Among Dead In Attack On Paper
Fischman, 61, and McNamara, 56, both attended the University and wrote for The Diamondback newspaper. The Diamondback reports Fischman graduated in 1979 and McNamara graduated in 1983. Fischman was a staff writer, state editor and assistant managing editor at The Diamondback while McNamara was a sports staff writer and assistant sports editor.
Fischman was the editorial page editor described by a former editor as an "old-fashioned journalist." He worked at the paper for 26 years.
McNamara was a longtime staff writer for the Capital Gazette. Our media partner The Baltimore Sun reports sports writing was his longtime dream.
RELATED: 4 Journalists, 1 Staffer Killed In Shooting At Capital Gazette In Annapolis
Wendi Winters, the special publications editor, and Rebecca Smith, a sales assistant, also lost their lives when a gunman opened fire in the Annapolis newsroom. Two others were injured. Their identities have not yet been released.
Police identified the shooter as 38-year-old Jarrod Ramos of Laurel, Md. He was taken into custody at the scene.
Ramos now faces five charges of first-degree murder. A bail hearing was scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Friday.
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