South Florida

South Florida Native, Journalist Rob Hiaasen Killed in Maryland Newspaper Shooting

What to Know

  • South Florida native and Capital Gazette editor Rob Hiaasen has been named as one of the victims of the Maryland shooting
  • His brother is Miami Herald columnist Carl Hiaasen, who mourned his "gentle and funny" brother in a Facebook post Thursday night

Editor, columnist and South Florida native Rob Hiaasen, the brother of Miami Herald columnist Carl Hiaasen, was one of the victims of Thursday's newsroom shooting in Maryland, authorities confirmed.

A native of Fort Lauderdale, Rob Hiaasen, 59, was an assistant editor and columnist of the Capital Gazette. He was a feature writer at the Baltimore Sun for 15 years before he moved to the Capital in 2010, according to his biography on the newspaper's website.

His brother, novelist and journalist Carl Hiaasen, has been with the Herald since 1976.

"I am devastated and heartsick to confirm the loss of my wonderful brother Rob today in the mass shooting in the newsroom at the Annapolis Capital Gazette," Carl wrote in a Facebook post. 

"(He) is one of the most gentle and funny people I've ever known. He spent his whole gifted career as a journalist, and he believed profoundly in the craft and mission of serving the public's right to know the news."

Five people died and several were gravely injured after a gunman opened fire at the Capital's building in Annapolis, Maryland, authorities confirmed.

Local authorities have identified the additional victims as Wendi Winters, Rebecca Smith, Gerald Fischman and John McNamara.

The suspected gunman was identified as Jarrod Ramos, 38, three senior law enforcement officials briefed on the matter told NBC News. The suspect allegedly had a "vendetta" against the paper, local law enforcement said.

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