Bowie Blade-News Editor Dies In Annapolis Shooting

John McNamara, the editor and primary reporter for the Bowie Blade-News, was one of the people killed in the shooting at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis on Thursday, the city of Bowie confirmed in a statement.

The City Council, staff, and residents of Bowie were "deeply saddened" by the news that McNamara was among the victims, the statement reads.

"For the last several years, McNamara was the editor/primary reporter for the Bowie Blade-News and an important fixture in our community," the statement adds. "He was a talented writer with a knack for taking complex, often-contentious issues, and turning them into straightforward, even-handed articles that informed the Bowie community he served. His laid back style and quick wit put those he interviewed at ease and his story telling skills made him a ‘must read’ every Thursday in the Blade. His in-depth features often shone a light on people and local organizations active in serving others in Bowie and these articles had a way of strengthening the ties that bind us as a community."

McNamara was also a "caring person who loved sports," particularly the Maryland Terrapins.

"On behalf of the City Council, the staff, and the residents of Bowie, we offer our deepest condolences to his family and his colleagues at the Capital Gazette on their loss," the statement adds. "John was a true friend of Bowie and will be sorely missed."

Five people were shot and killed and many others were wounded as gunfire erupted at the Annapolis office on Thursday. Police said Jarrod Ramos, of Laurel, Maryland, made a "targeted attack" on the newspaper. Through the chaos, reporters provided the eyewitness accounts that are a hallmark of journalism, sharing the gut wrenching ordeal in a series of tweets sent from their crouched positions under desks, where they shielded themselves from the gunman's bullets.

John McNamara was a fixture in the Capital Gazette newsroom for more than 20 years. A "jack of all trades," he could do many jobs at the newspaper, but covering regional sports was his "dream job," his colleagues said.

"At a small paper like that, you have to be versatile," said former Capital Gazette sports editor Gerry Jackson, who hired "Mac," as he was known, years ago. "He could write. He could edit. He could design pages. He was just a jack of all trades and a fantastic person."

McNamara's colleagues praised his flexibility and concise writing, as well a razor-sharp wit that produced some memorable one-liners, longtime Baltimore Sun reporter Jeff Barker recalled of the time the two spent together covering University of Maryland sports.

"That was the journalist in him," Barker said. "But he was a loyal friend with an infectious laugh, and he was a willing mentor for young journalists. In other words, he never allowed his professional distance to detract from just being a thoroughly decent person."

McNamara has written two books about the University of Maryland's football and basketball history, and he was working on another book about baseball players raised in the Washington, D.C., area, according to The Baltimore Sun.

A 1983 graduate of the University of Maryland, he also had worked at The Herald-Mail in Hagerstown, Maryland, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Additional reporting by Patch editor Beth Dalbey

Image: Friday's edition of the the Capital Gazette for sale on a newspaper stand, on June 289, 2018 in Annapolis, Maryland. On Thursday, five people were shot and killed in the daily newspaper's newsroom by a lone gunman. Jarrod Ramos of Laurel, Maryland, has been arrested and charged. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)