A shooting occurred Thursday afternoon at the Capital Gazette in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, a local newspaper owned by The Baltimore Sun, according to multiple reports.

A suspect has now been identified, authorities said, and called the shooting a “targeted attack.”

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Local law enforcement officials told CNBC that Jarrod Ramos, 38, walked into the Gazette newsroom Thursday afternoon and opened fire — killing five people and injuring several others.

Initial reports had suggested six people had been shot and a shooter was in custody, and police later said five fatalities and several injuries had been reported. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan was quickly on the scene and said at a news conference at 4:45 p.m., “This [situation] is still actively going on,” with police officials adding they were trying to determine a motive.

There were also reports of an active shooter at The Baltimore Sun itself, said the WBAL news station in Baltimore. Tactical units were dispatched, but no suspicious persons were found there.

At about 3 p.m. an intern with the Capital Gazette wrote on Twitter, “Please help us.”

Phil Davis, a Gazette police reporter, said multiple people had been shot, The Sun reported.

“Can’t say much more and don’t want to declare anyone dead, but it’s bad,” he tweeted at 3:45 p.m.

“There is nothing more terrifying than hearing multiple people get shot while you’re under your desk and then hear the gunman reload,” he also wrote.

Local police officials said at a press conference Thursday night that the gunman “had some sort of vendetta” against the newspaper.

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The suspected gunman entered the building with a shotgun and walked through the lower level of the building, where the newspaper is housed, Anne Arundel County deputy police Chief Bill Krampf said.

Police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Anne Arundel County Police also confirmed there was an “active shooter” at 888 Bestgate Road, where the newspaper’s offices are located. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) confirmed it was responding to a “shooting incident” at the Gazette, said WBAL.

The Lord & Taylor at Annapolis Mall was identified as the place where families could reconnect, WBAL reported.

WBAL also reported that a suspicious package had been found at the Bestgate Road location, and a bomb squad was being dispatched.

Sunrise Senior Living at 800 Bestgate Road, less than a mile away, was also reportedly on lockdown, said WBAL.

Local police officials said at a press conference Thursday night that the gunman “had some sort of vendetta” against the newspaper — and was making threats “indicating violence” on social media, though the reasons are unclear, as the New York Post reported.

Officials also told NBC News that Ramos once filed a defamation suit against the Gazette in 2012 for a column it had published a year earlier about a guilty plea he entered in a criminal harassment case. That claim, however, was reportedly dismissed.

This article has been updated.

(photo credit, article: GoogleMaps)