SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts newspaper reporter has resigned after falsely suggesting the perpetrator of the deadly shooting at a Maryland newspaper was wearing a President Donald Trump-inspired "Make America Great Again" hat.

The Republican newspaper in Springfield reports Conor Berry apologized for tarnishing the "good work of fair-minded journalists everywhere" in his Friday resignation letter.

Berry tweeted an image of the familiar red hat and suggested 38-year-old Jarrod Ramos had dropped a similar one on The Capital Gazette's newsroom floor before opening fire and killing five people Thursday. The tweet has since been taken down.

Wayne Phaneuf, The Republican's executive editor, said journalists must be "more vigilant than ever" in their efforts to be fair and accurate. Trump frequently criticizes reporters as peddlers of "fake news."