State Watch

Boston police chief calls for increased patrols around media after Maryland shooting

Police in Boston moved to increase patrols near local media outlets on Thursday after at least five people were killed during a shooting at a newsroom in Annapolis, Md.

The move from Police Commissioner Bill Evans followed a similar move from New York City police officers earlier Thursday as Maryland police sought to determine a motive for the deadly attack.

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“While there are no credible concerns or information detailing similar threats directed towards media outlets in Boston, Commissioner Evans has called for increased and directed patrols in and around various media agencies throughout the city,” a police spokesman told The Boston Globe.

Officers will “make a point” to show increased presence near the media outlets, which were not identified, the spokesman added.

New York City police confirmed to The Hill earlier Thursday that it was standard procedure to increase security near media outlets in the event of such an attack.

“We amp up security in these kinds of incidents,” an NYPD spokesperson told The Hill in confirming the decision to deploy units to various news organizations following the shooting.

Officers also apparently swept the premises of the Baltimore Sun, which owns the Capital Gazette, on Thursday after the shooting occurred.

Police reported that one suspect was apprehended Thursday after the shooting, and identified him as a Maryland resident with a “vendetta” against the newspaper company.

Multiple news outlets later identified the suspect as 38-year-old Jarrod Ramos of Laurel, Md., who was involved in a 2012 defamation case against the newspaper over its reporting on his conviction for criminal harassment.