Maryland Newspaper Shooter Identified

Police have determined the identity of the man accused of opening fire outside of the newsroom of the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland. Authorities have not publicly released his name, but NBC News reports he is 38-year-old Jarrod Ramos.

Ramos refused to identify himself to police, did not have identification on him when he was taken into custody, and reportedly mutilated his fingertips to prevent police from using his fingerprints to identify him. Police resorted to using facial recognition software and compared his photo to those in the database of passport and drivers license photos. 

"This was a targeted attack on the Capital Gazette," Anne Arundel County acting police chief Bill Krampf said at a press conference. "This person was prepared to shoot people. His intent was to cause harm."

Authorities said that the newspaper received threats on social media prior to the shooting, but have yet to confirm if Ramos was responsible for the threats. 

Ramos has a history with the newspaper. He sued the Gazette in 2012 for defamation after they ran a story detailing accusations associated with his guilty plea to criminal harassment. A judge dismissed his case, and an appeals court affirmed the ruling. 

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