Capital Gazette shooting suspect had bitter history with the Maryland newspaper

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -— (WPIX) -- A man who police say opened fire at a Maryland newspaper office Thursday, killing five and injuring two others, had a long, acrimonious history with the newspaper, including a lawsuit and years of harassment of its journalists on Twitter.

A law enforcement official said the suspect was identified as Jarrod W. Ramos. The official was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Tom Marquardt, retired publisher and top editor at the paper, told The Capital Gazette on Thursday that he had long been concerned about Ramos' history of escalating social media attacks against the newspaper and its journalists.

He called police about Ramos in 2013 and considered filing a restraining order against him.

"I was seriously concerned he would threaten us with physical violence," Marquardt said. "I even told my wife, 'We have to be concerned. This guy could really hurt us.'"

Ramos filed a failed lawsuit against the paper in 2012, alleging the newspaper, a columnist and an editor defamed him in an article about his conviction in a criminal harassment case in 2011.

According to court documents, five days after Ramos pleaded guilty to criminal harassment, the newspaper published a story describing allegations by a woman who claimed Ramos harassed her online for months.

The article said Ramos had contacted the woman on Facebook and thanked her "for being the only person ever to say, 'Hello,' or be nice to him in school."