It was a year for records in Baltimore — record-breaking rain, election results and an all-time terrible baseball team.

Tragedy and scandal rocked the region in 2018. These were the stories that dominated headlines during the last year.

Capital Gazette shooting

A gunman broke into the Capital Gazette newsroom in June, killing five employees of the Sun’s sister papers: Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara, Wendi Winters, Gerald Fischman and Rebecca Smith. Despite the attack, the staff published a paper the next day.

“I can tell you this: We are putting out a damn paper,” reporter Chase Cook wrote on Twitter the afternoon of the shooting.

Jarrod Ramos, a 38-year-old Laurel man, has been charged in the killings. He has pleaded not guilty, and his trial was postponed to June 2019.

Rain, rain and more rain

With over 65 inches of precipitation and counting, 2018 became the wettest year on record in Baltimore. Super-saturated ground led to widespread flooding throughout the year, the effects of which were never more evident than in May, when Eliicott City was devastated by the second major flood in two years. The deluge killed a man, Sgt. Eddison “Eddie” A. Hermond, and shut down Main Street in the historic milltown — causing county officials to reconsider their approach to flood control in the area and prompting business owners to question whether they would return and rebuild.

Two people also drowned in floodwaters in Abingdon in August. 34-year-old Melissa Lehew and 67-year-old Daniel Samis died after Lehew tried to rescue Samis, who was trapped in his car.

Officer Amy Caprio’s death

Officer Amy Caprio, 29, became the first female Baltimore County police officer killed in the line of duty in May, when she was fatally struck by a stolen Jeep while responding to a call in Perry Hall. “She was the kind of officer that was going to go up in this organization,” Baltimore County Chief of Police Terrence Sheridan said of the four-year veteran. Four Baltimore teenagers — Dawnta Harris, Darrell Ward, Derrick Matthews and Eugene Genius IV — were charged as adults with first-degree murder and other counts in Caprio’s killing. They are being held until their trials in 2019.

Gubernatorial election and

the death of Kevin Kamenetz

Larry Hogan won a second term as Maryland’s governor, becoming the second Republican to do so in state history. During the primary campaign, Hogan’s strongest Democratic challenger, former Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, died in May — before the primary election. After his death, Ben Jealous won the Democratic primary. Hogan defeated Jealous in the general election with more than 56 percent of the vote.

The Orioles’ all-time low

It was a year for records in Baltimore. And amid extremely high rainfall, the Orioles also smashed records with their worst season, becoming the losingest team in club history with 115 losses. They scored only 47 wins. After trading some of their biggest stars, in October, the team fired manager Buck Showalter and executive vice president Dan Duquette. Mike Elias, formerly of the Houston Astros, took over the general manager role. Here’s hoping he can put up a better season in 2019.

Police under pressure

Baltimore is preparing to bring on its fourth police chief since the start of 2018. In January, Mayor Catherine Pugh fired then-commissioner Kevin Davis. Darryl De Sousa was ousted in May after he failed to file federal tax returns. Interim chief Gary Tuggle has taken himself out of the running for the permanent post. Fort Worth Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald was nominated to the post this month; confirmation is pending. The year also brought to light the work of the Gun Trace Task Force, which carried out a campaign of extortion and robbery, pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash over at least three years. Two officers were convicted in the case, and seven more, including an ex-Philadelphia cop, pleaded guilty. A state commission was formed to look into the scandal.

superintendent serves time

Baltimore County schools Superintendent Dallas Dance had built a reputation as an up-and-comer, eager to make a national name for himself in the fast-growing business of educational technology. But he was indicted in January and in March pleaded guilty to four counts of perjury for failing to accurately report income for part-time consulting work. The income included payments from a company he helped win a no-bid contract with the school system. Dance was sentenced on April 20 — his 37th birthday — to a six-month sentence. With a reduction in time for good behavior, he was released after four months in a Virginia jail.

shootings in St. Mary’s and

Harford counties

Beyond the Capital Gazette, Maryland saw fatal shootings at a school and another workplace in 2018. In March, a 17-year-old gunman killed one fellow student and injured another at Great Mills High School in St. Mary’s County — less than a week after participating in a national walkout to call for an end to gun violence. And in September, a temporary worker at a Rite Aid warehouse in Harford County shot seven people, killing three before killing herself.

Jordan McNair’s death and

upheaval at COLLEGE PARK

The University of Maryland became embroiled in scandal after football player Jordan McNair, a 19-year-old redshirt freshman, collapsed from heatstroke at a May 29 practice and died two weeks later. His death led to investigations that revealed a problematic culture in the football program. Coach DJ Durkin and three members of his staff were placed on administrative leave; Durkin was later fired by university President Wallace Loh. Loh announced he would resign in June 2019, and James Brady, chair of the University System of Maryland Board of Regents, also resigned. The university’s accreditation is under review.

The rise of hate crimes

Amid a national spike in hate crimes, Maryland too saw a rise in hate-based crimes. Reports of hate or bias increased 35 percent from 2016 to 2017, with 398 reports last year, according to a Baltimore Sun investigation. Hate crimes reported to police in the 10 largest U.S. cities rose 13 percent last year. Hate crimes that gained national attention continued through 2018, including a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue.

smeehan@baltsun.com

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