Victim Of Capital Gazette Shooting Earns Honor For Her Heroism

ANNAPOLIS, MD — A journalist killed in the 2018 Capital Gazette shooting earned a hero's honor Monday. The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission dedicated a Carnegie Medal in remembrance of Editor Wendi Winters.

The award recognizes civilians who risked their lives to save others. Winters was one of 17 people across the U.S. and Canada to earn the distinction this quarter.

When a gunman stormed the Capital Gazette newsroom on June 28, 2018, Winters tried to stop him. She grabbed a garbage can and a recycling bin, and charged at the shooter.

Winters was one of five employees killed that day. The other four were Assistant Editor Robert Hiaasen, Editorial Page Editor Gerald Fischman, Sports Reporter John McNamara and Sales Assistant Rebecca Smith.

In remembrance of the victims, Maryland now observes Freedom of the Press Day on the anniversary of the shooting. Gov. Larry Hogan announced the reflection day earlier this year.

"As we honor those we lost and all who have lost their lives in the pursuit of informing our citizens, we recognize the vital role that the freedom of the press has in our democracy," Hogan said in a statement.

Winters' survivors will also receive a financial grant. Since the Carnegie Medal's creation in 1904, the commission has given $42 million in one-time grants, scholarship aid, death benefits and continuing assistance. The group has honored 10,202 civilians in its century-long history.

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