One week after the tragic shooting at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, newsrooms across the country will hold a moment of silence in memory of their five fellow journalists whose lives were lost.
The American Society of News Editors (ASNE) and the Associated Press Media Editors (APME) have asked newsrooms around the world to join them at 2:33 p.m. ET Thursday — the exact time the gunman began his rampage a week ago — for a moment of contemplation, prayer, reflection or meditation.
“The tragedy last Thursday at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland, tears at our hearts, tugs at our compassion and calls forth our fears for the safety of all those on the front lines of truth, accountability and journalistic pursuit,” said a joint release by the two groups.
Last week, a man walked into the Capital Gazette’s newsroom and killed Rob Hiaasen, 59, assistant editor; Gerald Fischman, 61, editorial page editor; John McNamara, 56, a staff writer; Rebecca Smith, 34, a sales assistant; and Wendi Winters, 65, who worked in special publications.
Jarrod Ramos, 38, was arrested and charged with five counts of first-degree murder, according to court records. Ramos had harbored a grudge against the paper for years after it ran a column about his harassment of a former high school classmate.
The alleged killer wrote a chilling letter, saying he went to the newspaper with the “objective of killing every person present.” The letter was dated the day of the shooting.
The ASNE and the APME asked that people consider donating to funds to help the families of those lost and the newsroom with its recovery.
“As we unite in solidarity behind the grit of the Capital Gazette team and its media family, let us remember the very real needs of those in Annapolis,” the release said.
Several dozen current and former staffers from the Capital Gazette, some with tears in their eyes, marched Wednesday in Annapolis’s annual July 4 parade to show solidarity with the community.