Jewish journalist among 5 killed in Maryland shooting
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Jewish journalist among 5 killed in Maryland shooting

Gerald Fischman had a 'brilliant mind,' friends say; murder charges filed against suspect, named by Capital Gazette as Jarrod Ramos, who had a long-running dispute with paper

By TOI staff and Agencies 29 June 2018, 2:34 pm 2 Edit
Capital Gazette editorial writer Gerald Fischman, identified as victim of a shooting at the newspaper that took place on June 28, 2018. (Courtesy)
Capital Gazette editorial writer Gerald Fischman, identified as victim of a shooting at the newspaper that took place on June 28, 2018. (Courtesy)

One of the five people killed Thursday in a shooting at the Capital Gazette in Maryland was Jewish editorial page editor Gerald Fischman, who was described by the paper as having a “brilliant mind, wry wit and ‘wicked pen.'”

Fischman was gunned down, along with colleagues Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith and Wendi Winters, when a man armed with a shotgun and smoke grenades burst into a newspaper office in Annapolis, in what police described as a “targeted attack.”

First-degree murder charges were filed Friday against the man who allegedly targeted Maryland’s capital newspaper, who shot his way into the newsroom.

The Baltimore Sun — which owns the Capital Gazette — identified the suspected shooter as Jarrod Ramos, who it said had a long-running dispute with the newspaper over a 2011 story “that covered a criminal harassment case against him.”

Gerald Fischman

Fischman, the editorial page editor at the Capital Gazette, was an “old-fashioned journalist,” a former editor of the paper said.

Steve Gunn remembered Fischman as “the master of AP style” who “made sure everything was just right.”

“He was famous for working long days and being very precise in his language and always making sure the editorial page reflected the heart of the newspaper,” Gunn said in an interview with The Associated Press.

The newspaper wrote of him that, “His quirky, low-key demeanor belied a biting sense of humor that charmed his colleagues.”

“He was extraordinarily knowledgeable about the political dynamics of the community,” said House Speaker Michael E. Busch in the newspaper report. “ He was a bit of a loner, but was very, very intelligent. He was a respected writer and captured, for the most part, the feelings within the community.”

Colleagues said Fischman never complained about anything, not even about being the Jew who had to write an editorial about Christmas every year.

Fischman married late in life, surprising his co-workers one day by announcing he had met a Mongolian opera singer online.

Shortly after his marriage he was asked by friends how he met his wife.

“I typed ‘Mongolian opera singer’ into a dating site,” he told them, the Gazette reported.

Fischman had worked at the paper 26 years.

Rob Hiassen

Journalist Rob Hiaasen’s family is “devastated” by his death, said his brother, author Carl Hiaasen.

Carl Hiaasen, a prolific novelist and a longtime columnist for the Miami Herald, confirmed that his brother, also a columnist and an editor, was one of the Annapolis victims.

In a brief phone call with The Associated Press, Carl Hiaasen said his family “was devastated beyond words” by the senseless killing of his brother at The Capital Gazette.

“He was the most remarkable person. So gifted and talented and dedicated to journalism,” he said, his voice choked with emotion.

Saying he was too wracked with grief to speak further, Hiaasen referred an AP reporter to something he had just posted to his Facebook page, describing Rob as one of the most “gentle and funny people I’ve ever known.”

Gunn, the former Capital Gazette editor, said Rob Hiaasen was a “gifted editor who had an aura of an artist around him who made people want to make journalism a beautiful craft.”

John McNamara

John McNamara, 56, was a longtime staff writer at the paper.

Gunn said McNamara was workmanlike — “classic come to work and tell me what I need to do.”

“At a small paper like that, you have to be versatile,” former Capital Gazette sports editor Gerry Jackson told the paper. “He could write. He could edit. He could design pages. He was just a jack of all trades and a fantastic person.”

A reporter from a different paper described him as, “A loyal friend with an infectious laugh, and he was a willing mentor for young journalists. In other words, he never allowed his professional distance to detract from just being a thoroughly decent person.”

Rebecca Smith

Rebecca Smith had only recently joined the Gazette and worked as a sales assistant.

“She was a very thoughtful person,” the paper’s advertising director Marty Padden said. “She was kind and considerate, and willing to help when needed. She seemed to really enjoy to be working in the media business.”

Wendi Winters

Special publications editor Wendi Winters was “the heart of the newspaper,” Gunn said.

Winters, a 65-year-old mother of four, was passionate about serving the community and a role model for younger journalists, he recalled.

“She was in many ways the best part of the newspaper in that she cared so much about the city,” he said.

“My mother was a wonderful woman and a fantastic reporter,” her daughter Winters Geimer told the Gazette. “Her life was a gift to everyone who knew her and the world will not be the same without her. We are grieving and trying to make sure all of us can be together to celebrate the life of our mother.”

Shooter had long-running dispute with paper

Acting police chief of Anne Arundel county, Bill Krampf, told journalists that police did not yet know the shooter’s motive, but “we know that there were threats sent to the Gazette through social media.”

“We’re trying to confirm what account that was and we’re trying to confirm who actually sent them,” Krampf added.

Jimmy DeButts, a Capital Gazette journalist, tweeted that he was “devastated & heartbroken. Numb.”

“I’m in no position to speak, just know @capgaznews reporters & editors give all they have every day. There are no 40 hour weeks, no big paydays — just a passion for telling stories from our community,” DeButts wrote.

Still going to print

Chase Cook, a reporter at the newspaper, said the shooting would not stop The Capital — the local print edition — from going to press.

“We’re putting out a paper tomorrow,” vowed Cook as he typed grimly away in the shade of a car park, perched on the back of a pick-up truck.

“I don’t know what else to do except this,” he said. “We’re just doing our job.”

US President Donald Trump, who has been at loggerheads with much of the media since taking office, tweeted a message of support.

“My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. Thank you to all of the First Responders who are currently on the scene,” he wrote.

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