Statement from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press on the shooting at the Capital Gazette

On Thursday, at least five people were killed and several others injured in a shooting at the offices of the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Md.

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of Press issued the following statement:

“We are heartbroken by the tragic news of today’s shooting at the Capital Gazette. Our thoughts are with the entire newsroom, the families, friends, colleagues, and communities of the reporters who were killed while doing their jobs.

“The escalating anger and culture of hostility toward the press has made it dangerous to be a journalist in America. We need leaders from city halls to state houses to the White House to condemn this violence and to stop adding to the rhetoric that fuels it. Speak out against the threats and hatred directed toward the press and speak up in support of the people who bring us the news.”