Police Capture Gunman Who Entered Miami Herald Building

MIAMI – A gunman who entered The Miami Herald building was captured without incident Friday.

Attorney Joe Garcia identified the gunman as his client Jose Varela, a freelance cartoonist who worked at the paper. Garcia says Varela called him a couple of times from inside of the building and expressed concern about what he called a conflict of interest at the Herald's Spanish-language sister paper El Nuevo Herald.

Garcia says all that his client wants is for "the truth to come out." Garcia adds that he thinks Varela "needs some time to work some things out."

The incident began when the gunman spoke with security and demanded to see one of his editors, said police spokesman Delrish Moss.

Varela then apparently brandished a machine gun and went up to the offices of the Spanish-language paper. The floor was quickly evacuated.

Varela didn't take hostages. Moss said the gunman was apparently upset some of his cartoons had been censored. The spokesman added that the editor whom the gunman wanted to see was safe and talked with the police.

Police were able to calm Varela down, and he surrendered about two hours after entering the building.

Executive editor of the Miami Herald, Tom Fiedler, told FOX that before being taken into custody, Varela declared that he was in charge of the paper.

The Herald reported on its Web site that the man demanded to see El Nuevo Herald's executive editor, Humberto Castello. About 12 to 15 employees inside the newsroom were present, employees said.

''I thought it was a joke,'' one employee said.

Another employee said Varela walked in and started talking to employees. Then, he began ordering women out ''for their own security,'' the employee said, according to the Herald.
El Nuevo Herald employees have been instructed not to talk to other reporters.

It was the second situation involving a gun at the newspaper in the past year and half. In July 2005, former city commissioner Arthur E. Teele Jr. fatally shot himself in the Herald lobby after asking to speak with columnist Jim DeFede. Teele had been under investigation for corruption and was just indicted by a federal grand jury on fraud charges.

DeFede was fired for recording his telephone conversations with Teele just before the incident without the politician's permission.

El Nuevo Herald is one of the nation's largest Spanish-language newspapers and is published by The Miami Herald Media Co.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.