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Rob Hiaasen, a veteran journalist, has been identified as one of the victims of the Capital Gazette shooting on Thursday, June 28. Hiaasen, who is the brother of well-known novelist and Miami Herald columnist Carl Hiaasen, was one of the five victims gunned down by 38-year-old Jarrod W. Ramos, his brother confirmed to multiple news outlets.
“He was the most remarkable person. So gifted and talented and dedicated to journalism,” Carl said during a phone call with the Associated Press.
Carl added that his family is “devastated beyond words.”
Hiaasen, who was 59-years-old when he was gunned down, previously wrote for The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, and The Huffington Post before joining The Capital as a columnist and assistant editor. Erin Cox, the state House bureau chief and politics reporter for The Baltimore Sun, shared her memories of Hiaasen after he was confirmed as one of the victims.
https://twitter.com/BaltSunBrk/status/1012505460811890688
She wrote on Twitter:
This is the most heartbreaking part of this. Rob was a friend, a mentor, and editor and a delightful human being. A light went out today. I’m personally devastated, and journalism lost a devoted and beautiful soul. After I stopped working for him, Rob and I would grab long lunches a couple times a year. We chatted as if it’d just been a few days since we saw each other. He was a cheerleader and pushed me to stay in journalism when I wanted to give up. Rob was also a father of three, and he could talk for hours about how much he loved each of his children, what made them unique, his dreams for them, and his utter delight in the adults they were becoming.
I know I’m wounded having lost a friend. Please think of his kids, too.
Our deepest condolences are with Hiaasen’s family, friends, colleagues, and everyone he has made a positive impact on during this incredibly difficult time.
https://twitter.com/DavidOvalle305/status/1012507452032602112
This is a developing story. More information will be added as it becomes available. Refresh for updates.
