A man with a long-standing grudge against a newspaper in the US city of Annapolis massacred five people, four of them journalists, as he blasted his way through its newsroom with a shotgun and smoke grenades in what police say was a "targeted attack." The suspect barricaded an exit so that employees could not escape, says a prosecutor.

The shooting at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Maryland, that also injured three others, was the deadliest day for US journalism since 9/11 terror attacks. The shooter identified as Jarrod Warren Ramos, 38, was charged with five counts of first-degree murder. "This was a targeted attack on the Capital Gazette. This person was prepared today to come in. He was prepared to shoot people. His intent was to cause harm," Anne Arundel County Deputy Police Chief William Krampf said.