Capital Gazette Shooter Trial: Witnesses For Prosecution Deliver Emotional Testimony
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) -- Friday marked the end of week two of the Capital Gazette shooting trial and prosecutors called more than a dozen witnesses who either survived the mass shooting or responded to the shooting.
Many of the victims who were trapped inside that newsroom with the shooter told the court that they thought they were going to die that day.
Please be warned that some of the details below may be disturbing.
It was the first full day of the prosecution's case and workers in the newsroom described the panic they felt when they realized what was happening.
There was the sales representative who testified that she heard her friend Rebecca Smith say in a small voice "no no no" and then there was a gunshot.
That woman said she thought to herself, "Someone was in here with a gun and he's killing us. Is this a game?"
Then there was the intern who was on the job for just three weeks. He hid under the desk with another co-worker and because 911 was busy, they put out a desperate tweet that read, "Active shooter 888 Bestgate please help us."
There was the news photographer who hid and waited for a lull in the gunshots, but when that break came and he started to run out of the newsroom, the gunman, Jarrod Ramos turned and started shooting, but missed.
"I heard another gunshot go off and I felt a breeze go past my head," the photographer told the court.
There was also the story about Wendi Winters, one witness said she ran towards the shooter with a trash can.
"I hear her saying, you get out of here, you stop that, just kind of like scolding him," the witness told the court "...and then I hear the shotgun go off."
Winters was one of five people who died that day. Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara and Rebecca Smith were also killed.
The survivors had to walk by the bodies of their deceased co-workers as police led them to safety.
Law professor David Jaros said even though the testimonies are emotional, the prosecution still has to focus on the issue at hand.
"We know that a terrible act occurred, we know that it caused incredible harm to a number of people, obviously most importantly the people whose lives were lost," says Jaros. "But that's not necessarily relevant to the question of whether or not this person is criminally responsible."
The defense rested its case on Thursday. Medical experts that were called by defense attorneys diagnosed the defendant with autism spectrum disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and delusional disorder.
Proceedings will continue on Monday at 9 a.m.
Editor's Note: A witness who testified Friday in the Jarrod Ramos trial is married to someone who writes for WJZ.com. Our writer has not covered this story for WJZ or WJZ.com.
