DORAL, FLA. (WSVN) - South Florida is mourning the loss of journalist Rob Hiaasen, one of five people killed in Thursday’s shooting at a newspaper office in Maryland and the younger brother of best-selling novelist and Miami Herald columnist Carl Hiaasen.
The flag outside the Herald building in Doral was lowered to half-staff, Friday, a symbol of the somber mood at newsrooms across the country.
The news hit especially close to home for Herald editor Amy Driscoll and the rest of the newspaper’s staff.
“I was kind of dreading coming into work today. I think we all feel less safe in our workplaces today,” said Driscoll. “Also, just the continuing coverage of the story makes it difficult to think of other things. We’re in mourning.”
According to police, Hiaasen was inside the Capital Gazette building in Annapolis when a gunman opened fire in what police described as a targeted attack, fatally striking him and four others. Two other victims sustained gunshot wounds and were taken to the hospital.
Hiaasen, who grew up with Carl in Plantation, was a staff reporter for the Baltimore Sun for 15 years before he was hired as the assistant managing editor of the Gazette in 2010.
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Driscoll said she knew Hiaasen before his brother. They met in the early 1990s as up-and-coming journalists at The Palm Beach Post, where Hiaasen was a staff reporter.
“A funny, smart guy whose, I think, overall characteristic was his kindness,” she said.
Hiaasen also worked as an anchor and reporter for top news talk radio stations across Florida.
His brother Carl began working at The Miami Herald in the 1980s. He has since published more than 20 novels.
Speaking with 7News on the phone, Carl praised his brother. “He was the rock of our family. He was my little brother, but he was still the guy who brought us all together and kept us together when times were tough. This will probably never heal.”
My deepest condolences to a brilliant man, @Carl_Hiaasen for the tragic loss of your brother Rob. My prayers for Scott and the rest of your family, as well as the other families and victims of this despicable attack on the #CapitalGazetteNewspaper.
— Alberto M. Carvalho (@LAUSDSup) June 29, 2018
Rob Hiaasen’s wife, Maria Hiaasen, told the Sun Sentinel, “There was no finer human being, there just wasn’t … and certainly no finer father, and he was a damn fine journalist, too.”
The Sun Sentinel reported that Thursday was Maria’s birthday.
Very sad to learn veteran Miami reporter @Carl_Hiaasen brother is one of the reporters killed in the very tragic shooting @capgaznews today. My thoughts & prayers are with Carl & his entire family. #EndGunViolence now! We must support gun laws that make sense. @ProsecutorsAGV
— Kathy Rundle (@KathyFndzRundle) June 29, 2018
Those who knew Hiaasen best said he was killed while doing what he loved.
“He believed in the mission and the craft of hometown journalism,” said Carl.
“These are our colleagues in journalism, and for them to be killed during their jobs is very, very hard,” said Driscoll..
Hiaasen graduated from Plantation High School before going to the University of Florida. He was 59 years old.
In addition to Maria, he leaves behind three children.
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