VietJoy

Police secure the scene of a shooting at the building housing the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Md., June 28, 2018.

The gunman who allegedly killed five people in the office of the Capital Gazette newspaper last year has pleaded guilty but not criminally responsible.

James Ramos, who prosecutors say had a long-standing grudge against the Maryland newspaper, was set to go on trial later this week.

He had earlier pleaded not guilty and not criminally responsible. If Judge Laura Ripken accepts Ramos's new plea, the court will likely forgo a trial on whether he actually murdered his victims and move straight to whether he was responsible for his actions.

Ramos is accused of bursting into the Gazette's building in June 2018 and killing four reporters and an office assistant.

Prosecutors say Ramos had lost a defamation suit against the newspaper when it published a story about him pleading guilty to harassing a former high school classmate.

The state planned to show surveillance video at his criminal trial of what the prosecutors say was Ramos walking through the newsroom "hunting" for victims.