Staffers at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland would not let a shooting that left five of their co-workers dead stop them from doing their jobs. On Friday, the newspaper was published with the headline "5 shot dead at The Capital" underneath the names and photos of their five colleagues who lost their lives when a gunman with a grudge against the paper opened fire outside of the newsroom.
The Opinion page was left blank except for a brief statement:
Today, we are speechless.
This page is intentionally left blank to commemorate victims of Thursday's shooting at our office.
Gerald Fischman
Rob Hiaasen
John McNamara
Rebecca Smith
Wendi Winters
Tomorrow this page will return to its steady purpose of offering readers informed opinion about the world around them, that they might be better citizens.
The staff decided on Thursday that they would put the paper out on Friday. Following the shooting, they met with editor Rick Hutzell in a parking garage at the Annapolis Mall where they agreed that they must do their jobs and get the paper published the next day.
The Capital Gazette staffers had help from colleagues at their sister paper, The Baltimore Sun. Along with Friday's edition of the periodical, five articles were released highlighting the lives and achievements of each victim.
Photo: Getty Images